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George  JVashington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 

COLONEL  FLOWERS 

HHMtiiUIIEROOII 


THE  TWO  1M-RKLLI0X8; 


OK. 


TKEA^'^^:   ^"    ^ 


RICH  mo: 


I  w     ^    C'l-i 


[HE   TWO   REBELLIONS; 


OR, 


TREASON  UNMASKED. 


BY  A  VIRGINIAN. 


RICHMOND: 

SMITH,    BAILEY   k   CO.,    SENTINEL   OFFICE. 

1865. 


[  Copj-ri^ht  secured  according  to  law.  ] 


PREFACE. 


The  author  of  the  annexed  crude  production  has  no  better 
apology  to  offer  for  his  extreme  assurance  in  presenting  it  to 
the  public  than  a  statement  of  the  facts  which  explain  its  con- 
ception. 

A  short  time  before  the  actual  breaking  out  of  the  present 
war,  the  Virginia  Historical  Society  honored  him  with  a  re- 
quest that  he  would  prepare,  for  the  sake  of  historic  reference, 
a  brief  chronicle  of  what  was  termed  the  "  Harper's  Ferry 
Rebellion." 

This  was  at  once  acceded  toj  but  absence  from  this  country, 
to  which  he  returned  but  a  few  months  prior  to  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities,  prevented  more  than  a  partial  completion 
of  his  engagement  when  a  higher  duty  called  him  to  the  field. 
Since  that  time,  until  recently,  he  has  had  no  opportunity 
of  prosecuting  the  work  which  he  had  undei'takeu,  and  the 
difficulties  of  which  were  greatly  increased  by  the  destruction 
of  his  original  manuscript  and  material  by  Patterson's  soldiers. 
Lately,  taking  advantage  of "  a  furlough  which  a  slight  wound 
obtained,  the- writer  recommenced  the  task  which  he  had  en- 
gaged to  perforntr 

Becoming  interested  in  a  subject,  an  investigation  of  which 
disclosed  so  much  which  related  to  the  causes  and  objects  of 
the  present  war,  he  has  somewhat  enlarged  upon  his  first  plan 
and  indulged  in  a  slight  glance  at  some  of  th%  interesting  fea- 
tures of  the  second  as  well  as  the  first  rebellion  against  the 
majesty  of  an  established  -compact. 

Hoping,  in  the  language  of  all  authors,  that  the  Confederacy 
and  mankind  may  derive  no  little  blessing  from  this  effort  of 
his  gcuiusj^hc  beseeches  the  compassion  of  a  generous  public. 


Zj  ry  /  *?  /  G 


THE    TWO    KEBELLIONS  5 


TREASON  UNMASKED. 


•     CHAPTER   I. 

TDE    MYSTERY    OP    REVOLUTIONS. 

The  boyhood  of  f^reat  men  is  the  most  universally  interesting 
periofi  of  their  lives."  The  mystery  of  greatness  does  not  then 
hide  nature.  -Then  their  charactei-s  may  be  seen  written  out, 
Aff  it  were,  in  boyish  folly  or  precocious  virtuous  action,  and,  in 
the  transparent  experience  of  that  age,  something  discovered 
of  fhe  impulses,  and  springs  of  natures  that  soared  above  the 
masses  of  mankind. 

The  "pomp  and  circumstance"  which  usually  encircles  tri- 
umphant manhood  is  apt  to  conceal  from  oommon  view  those 
master  motives  and  secret  thoughts  which  reveal  the  sources 
of  greatness.  }Jut  in  early  youth  this  impenetrable  halo  is  not 
yet  formed,  and  the  veins  and  fterves  of  undeveloped  heroism 
lie  patent  to  the  vulgar  gaze.  Hence  it  is  that  all  men  love  to 
Htudy  the  boyhood  of  the  great. 

The  same  is  true  of  great  revolutions.  Within  the  narrow 
and  intelligible  outlines  of  their  small  beginnings,  it  is  often 
possible  to  contemplate  the  principal  agencies  of  a  commotion 
that  is  destined  to  change  the  direction  of  human  progress. 
However  petty  they  seem  in  their  smallness,  they  are  yet  im- 
pirtant  from  the  representative  causes  which  participate  in 
them,  and  hence  interesting. 

^Tt  is  pleasant,  too,  to  discover  the  connection  between  the 
great  and  small  events  of  history ;  to  find  (he  keys,  as  it  were, 
to  great  mysteries.  For  there  is  always  much  mystery  about 
great  revolutions.  The  ignorant  and  the  learned  alike  find 
them  hard  to  comjpc^heud,  and  though  the  latter  may  eotertftii) 


y  r?/  "?  /Q 


U  THE    TWO    ntnELLIONS  ; 

their  vanity  with  ompilin;::  rocords  of  iiioxplicaVilo  coiubina- 
tions,  cuiricidL'ticcs,  aiul  seijuciices.  they  will  ueithcr  ciilij;htea 
nor  amuse  the  less  patient  masses.  Indeed,  the  philo'Jojdiers 
thcmsselves  are  apt  to  lose  their  way  amid  the  world  of  morui 
j)hcnomena  that  envelopes  them  at  every  step. 

The  nu;ul)erle.ss  mural  forces  which  concur  in  producinjr  the 
bewildering^  chaos  of  such  hi.storic  periods,  obscure  the  main 
cau.ses  of  the  jrencral  chaiyj:c,  and  when  out  of  the.  coni'usioa 
there  finally  arises  new  ideas  and  institutions  which,  by  meth- 
ods known  onl}'  to  (iod,,are  worked  out  as  its  legitimate  fruils, 
•philosophic  ingenuity  is  exercised  rather  to  find  out  the  direct 
cau>*es  of  these  than  the  master  causes  of  the  revolution.  Tl\o 
A'ery  multitude  of  the  events  that  crowd  in  such  periods,  with- 
out considering  their  causal  relations,  is  sufficient  to  defy  hu- 
man analysis.  And  then  the^ll-ahsorbing  torrent  of  exciting 
incidents,  the  trifling,  perhaps,  overshadowing  the  more  im- 
portant, lighting  up  with  the  splendor  of  glorious  action  the 
incomprehensible  vast  theatre  upon  which  endless  lines  of  bat- 
tle stretch,  iorm  u  complex  picture  of  history  which  dazzles 
and  confounds  the  deepest  philosophers.  Ueasoii  is  lost  amid 
,  the  thousand  labyrinths  it  is  called  upon  to  wind,  and  the  inft- 
ugination  ea[itivated  with  the  grand  efforts  of  military  genius 
or  the  sublimity  of  individual  heroism.  Ilence  it  is  difficult 
to  comprehend  the  meaning  and  character  of  a  great  rev^vlution 
by  surveying  it  when  arrayed  in  all  the  ])ride  and  strength  of 
maturity.  It  is  far  better  to  regard  it  in  its  first  openings, 
when  the  buddings  of  its  vital  principles  are  visible  and  the  in- 
numerable auxiliaries  have  not  yet  come  forth  to  •^ilunge  all  in, 
confusion.  Or,  to  u.so  another  tigure,"  it  is  more  jirofitable  to 
Kail  up  the  ai)parently  shoreless  stream  of  human  events,  which 
represent  the  course  of  a  great  revolution,  until  V.'c  can  behold 
its'banks  ami  determine  its  general  direction. 

The  stranger  who  rides  in  a  solitary  bark  upon  the  placid 
waters  of  a  majestic  river,  wherc^  with  viewless  banks,  it 
debouches  into  the  .sea,  strains  his  eyes  in  vain  to  obtain  some 
conception  of  the  nature  and  origin  of  the  stream  upon  which 
lie  floats. '  Chance  may  direct  his  course  until,  in  his  a.scent, 
he  beholds,  on  either  side,  lining  the  horizon,  tlje  distant 
shores;  stud  still  the  wide  e.xpan.se  which  stretches  out  before 
him  baffles  his  vision  and  confounds  his  judgment. 

He  must  still  asc'cnd  to  where  the  neighboring  banks,  with 
outstretched  arnis  meeting  in  the  distance,  bound  in  the  rush- 
iujj  tide,  ere   he  cau   form  aiiy  idea  of  the   character  of   the 


on,   TRBASOy    TJNMA8KBD.  7 

stream.  Here,  if  he  pauses  on  this  inland  lake,  contcniplatinj; 
the  well-doliiied  scene  of  a  beautiful  river,  kissing  with  its  sil- 
ver waves  tlie  rock-bound  shores,  notwithstanding  the  little  bays 
and  ereeks  which  occasionally  interfere  with  a  correct  appre- 
hension of  the  landscape,  he  wjU  soon  form  a  clear  idea  of  the 
origin,  nature,  and'  direction  of  the  stream  upon  which  ho 
looks. 

If  he  proceeds  still  further,  and  passing  in  his  upward  eourse  . 
the  broad  valley's,  fertile  meadows,  and  winding  vales,  through 
which  its  gradually  dimini,shed  volume  ascends,  he  will,  in 
time,  find  himself  threading  dark  hollows  and  romantic  gorgCs, 
through  which  the  river,  now  become  a  brook,  with  mimic  roar 
or  trembling  music,  winds  its  fitful  and  capricious  course. 

Once  more  he  is  involved  in  confusion  as  to  the  general 
direction  of  the  stream.  The  unsatisfactory  vastness  of  a  shore- 
less sea  he  has  exchaiiged  for  the  sunless  and  perplexing  gloom 
of  mountain  forests,  and,  bewildered  with  the  mazes  he  has 
trodden,  he  regards  the  brawling  rivulet  at  his  feet,  and  can 
neither  tell  whence  it  comes  nor  whither  it  goes. 

Thus  is  it  with  one  who  explores  the  stream  of  events  that 
make  up  a  great  revolution.  If  he  strolls  along  the  e  igcs  of 
rivulets  which,  successively  uniting,  form  its  head-waters,  he 
can  Ifearn  no  more  concerning  its  geographical  course  and  gen- 
eral characteristics  than  where,  witli  apparently  boundless  vol- 
ume, it  stretches  on  to  mingle  its  crystal  waves  with  the  blue 
bill')ws  of  the  ocean.  Those  small  beginnings  which,  far  back 
in  the  hills  of  time,  barely  suggest  the  mighty  tide  which  they 
will  one  day  hdp  to  swell,  can  scarcely  be  said  to  foreshadow 
the  character  of  events  which,  from  their  magnitude  and  nov- 
elty, are  destined  to  astonish  nations.  And,  likewise,  when  the 
full-blown  grandeur  of  its  fierce  maturity  is  reached,  w^n  the 
authority  of  custom  is  rejected  and  the  accumulated  wfsdom  of 
generations  despised,  and  millions  of  armed  men  fill  a  continent 
with  the  pomp,  din,  and  horror  of  war,  the  same  mystery  sur- 
rounds the  secret  of  its  birth  and  progress. 

So  that  to  obtain  a  few  clear  ideas  concerning  the  ca'uses  and 
general  characteristics  of  a  great  reyolutiou,  it  is  necessary  to 
C(int<;ui|dat<;  it  at  some  point  of  its  development  wl^ere  neither 
the  oliscurity  of  its  dawn  nor  the  impervious  grandeur  of  its  me- 
ridian briglitness  is  encountered.  One  must  select  that  period 
when  I  he  laws  of  its  nature  are  just  clearly  unl'olded,  and  the 
80  ill-  u,Mtn  wliich  thoy  are  exhibited  admits  of  a  determinatioa 
of  their  tcudeucy. 


8  T7IK    TWO    P.EBBLLIONjJJ 

Xiiw,  it  seems  to  nio  that  thai  part  of  the  present  revolution 
wliith  corresponds  to  this  i.s  that  cnihraced  in  the  hiieth  and 
breadtli  of  the  Harper's  Ferry  insurrection.  It  constitutes  the 
iirst  rehcllion'a;;ainst  the  eouipaet  of  ]>eace  and  mutual  inter- 
est, which  at  first  was  ^'radually  formed  by  independent  States 
within  themselves,  and  afterwards  was  increased  by  the  'ad- 
dition  of  a  eontederate  superstruciure. 

It  has  an  individuality  distinct  fnmi  the  second  rebellion  of 
'01,  thouirh  it  may  be  re<rar<led  as  a  precocious  and  premature 
manifestation  of  their  common  causes.  It  preceded  and  pre- 
figured the  second  rebellion,  and  is  of  interest,  not  only  as 
formintrau  es.<»ential  part  of  the  development  of  the  latter,  but 
a.s  furnishing  in  its  j)Otly  outlines  a  photographic  iijiago  of  its 
jirominent  features.  Upon  its  narrow  stage  was  acted  a  small 
drama,  typical  of  the  great  tragedy  which  now  fills  a  continent, 
and  in  its  single  actors  one  sees  personified  tho.'je  human  passions 
which  have  animated  the  respective  portions  of  the  rebel  masses 
at  the  N<irth,  in  their  insane  attempt  to  dethrone  thu  majesty 
of  established  laws  and  institutions. 

Regarding  the  outbreak  upon  the  Virginia  border,  in  1859, 
in  such  a  character,  we  propose  to  embrace,  in  an  i-svestigation 
of  its  various  causes  and  in  a  brief  narrative  of  their  practical 
development,  an  Analysis  also  of  tho.se  moral  principles  which, 
budding,  blooming,  and  fructifying  at  the  North,  have  at  length 
resulted  in  producing  the  present  terrible  war. 


CHAPTER    11. 

PURITANISM. 


The  insurroctionary  outbreak,  known  as  the  John  Brown 
raid,  belongs  to  that  peculiar  class  of  events  which  are  de- 
nominated by  an  astonished  public  as  extraordinary  and  un- 
accountable, but  which  subse<|uent  develojiments  prove  to 
have  been  tlie  first  indication  of  a  new  state  tif  things,  or  the 
beginning  of  a  period  of  change  and  revolution. 

.John  Rrown  was  the  first  practical  exponent  of  a  radical 
system  of  ideas,  that,  for  .some  time  before  his  cmcuh',  had  al- 
most entirely  subjugated  the  iKtrthern  intellect.  What  had 
beeu  preached  by  othera  and  received  by  the  majority,  ho  put 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  9 

Jn  practice.  Revolutions  of  ideas  always  precede  those  of 
action,  but  are  never  acknowledged  to  have  occurred  until  dis- 
covered   in    the  new   forms  of  commonplace  events. 

That  change  of  opinion  which,  in  logical  order,  preceded 
this  insurrectionary  outbreak,  is  older  than  the  American 
Republic.  It  may  be  discovered  in  almost  any  period  of  our 
colonial  history.  Indeed,  it  began  with  the  first  Puritan  sect 
who  confounded  the  idea  of  a  free  and  equal  salvation  with 
wild  notions  of  political  equality. 

The  peculiar  sins  of  the  founders  of  the  Puritan  religion, 
and  which  have  been  faithfully  transmitted  to  their  descend- 
ants, were  self-righteousness,  covctousness,  love  of  power,  and 
envy  of  their  superiors.,  AYhilc  these,  no  doubt,  are  to  be 
found  -among  the  back-sliders  of  all  xlenominations,  yet  no- 
where do  they  grow  with  such  rank  luxuriance,  as  in  the  soil 
of  a  bad  Puritan's  heart.  There  they  flourish  in  the  wildest 
wantonness,  and  are  conspicuous  among  the  host  of  smaller  sins 
which  ever  attend  them. 

Now,  with  these  evil  propensities  belonging  to  natures  ob- 
etinate  and  energetic,  as  all  Puritans  are,  it  may  be  con- 
jectured that  a  designing,  wicked  intelligence,  could  perform 
much  mischief  in  thg  world. 

Their  overweening  pride,  their  Cnvy  of  the  powers  that  be, 
and  their*utter  contempt  for  that  spirit  of  consideration  for 
others  which  produces  social  peace  and  harmony,  was  a  great 
temptation  to  the  Devil  to  u.se  them  for  the  purpose  of  setting 
Christendom  by  the  ears.  And  this  seems  to  have  been  ef- 
fected by  him  upon  more  than  one  occasion  since  the  origin  of 
the  sect. 

The  moral  consequences,  in  their  case,  seem  to  have  been 
according  to  the  law  that  made* Satan  himself  pre-eminent 
among  the  fallen.  As  he  was  the  brightest  of  all  who  minis- 
tered around  the  heavenly  throne,  .so  when  overcomp  by  pride 
and  envy  he  fell,  he  became  the  most  active,  energetic  and  ef- 
ficient, of  all  the  fallen  spirits  to  jdot  and  to  do  evil. 

Now,»perhaps  it  may  be  said  with  propriety,  that  the  Puri- 
tans aimed  at  a  higher  .statidanl  of  excellence  than  any  of 
the  reformers.  Certainly  the  standard  which  they  professed 
to  have  attained,  was  far  above  that  which  others  reached. 
Hence,  it  seems,  that  as  their  virtues  were  of  primal  excel- 
lence their  sins  were  the  most  diabolical,  and  likewise,  as  the 
qualities  of  faith,  veneration,  and  obedience*  seem  to  have 
made  the  Jews  the  favorite  people  of  the  Almighty,  so  those  of 


iU  TIIL     XWci    UEUELLIONS; 

prid<».  love  of  power,  and  envy.  8ceni  to  have  made  the  Puritans 
the  pet  darlinjrs  <»f'  Satan.  Their  palm  of  iiilaniy  is  uiuli.-jiutetl; 
tlio  juilLMuont  of  liivtory  has  pronounced  upon  their  niorlts,  and 
"  hy  their  fruits  ye  r^hall  know  them,"  is  the  equitable  statute 
that  convicts  this  people,  before  au  impartial  world,  of  a  pre- 
eminence in  evil. 

Much  of  the  history  of  the  world  has  nevc»  been  written, 
and  that  which  has  had  the  most  skillful  delineators,  is  but 
little  understood.  The  fathomless  depths  of  human  motive, 
escape  the  penetration  of  the  historian,  and  the  mysterious 
influence  of  trifling:  events  is  ill  comprehended.  But,  if  the 
history  of  the  Devil's  administration  among  the  armies  of  evil  ■ 
could  be  written  in  a  book,  it  woul4  aid  greatly  in  dispelling  I 
the  obscurity  that  surrounds  the  past.  And  the  history  of 
the  Puritans  since  the  origin  of  their  religion,  if  I'aithfully 
depicted,  would,  in  all  probability,  constitute  au  important 
chapter  of  the  bouk. 

The  Puritans  liave  always  maintained  two  apparently  con-  1 
tradictory  cardinal  doctrines.      First,  that  as  Jesus  Christ  died  jj 
for  all  men,  and  salvation  is  offere'd  free  to  all,  so  men  are  Cfpial 
in  all  things.      Second,  that  to  the  saints  belong  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  and,  they  being  the  saints,  are  the  divinely 
.  commissiotied  lords  of  creation. 

The  6rst  assumed  an  importance  itf  their  practical  life  that 
did  not  attach  to  itfrom  its  natural  signi6cauce,  in  their  sys- 
tem of  moral  truths,  so  nnich  as  from  the  social  condition  of 
its  advocates  from  the  beginning. 

They  were  all  men  of  vulgar  origin,  and  of  that  pestilent, 
envious  class  of  low  people,  who  readily  receive  any  theory  of 
religion  or  polities,  whiah  brings  down  the  great,  the  intel- 
lectual, and  the  good,  to  their  own  level.  They  found  society 
recognizing  the  fact  that  they  had  social  superiors,  and  so 
they  the  jnore  readily  believed  and  inoilcatcd  the  doctrines  of 
efjuality.  "J'hey  found  themselves  without  that  taste  and  re- 
ilMeniont  of  the  heart,  and  incapable  of  that  chivalry'  of  dis- 
position, which  belonged  to  their  superiors,  and  so  they  pro- 
scribed these  witli  the  other  sins  which  they  professed  to 
abhor.  And  thus  it  happens,  to  the  surprise  and  di.«gnst  of 
enlightened  mankind,  that  fnmi  the  very  foundation  of  their 
ortfir,  it  has  been  a  part  of  tJieir  transmitted  system  to  des- 
]>ise  and  denounce  those  8«»ft  and  refining  rjualities  of  the 
iieart  which,  iii  all  agcs,  have  been  reci'gniKed  as  the  essential 
qualifications  of  gentlemen. 


Oa,   TREASON   UNMASKED.  11 

The  second  cardinal  doctrine  mentioned,  ignores  and  dis- 
avows that  equality  which  the  first  proclaims.  It  does  not, 
however,  interfere  with  the  advantages  of  the  first,  by  intrud- 
ing itself  in  a  painful  proximity  to  it.  Like  two  faithful 
sentinels,  these  doctrines  relieve,  each  other,  never  both  re- 
maitiing  on  duty  at  the  same  time.  The  first  is  always  preached 
when  the  saints  are  of  the  governed,  the  second  they  have 
'the  wisdom  to  keep  silent  about,  except  when  they  get  the 
reins  of  government  in  their  own  hands.  , 

There  are  three  periods  in  their  history  when  they  pro- 
cTaimcd  the  second;  and  during  the  time  of  its  ascendency, 
the  first  was  forgotten.  When  Cromwell,  like  an  exhalation  in 
the  evening,  excited  the  astonishment  and  wonder  of  mankind; 
whcu  New  England  rejoiced  in  a  religious  persecution  of  all 
disbelievers  in  Puritan  perfection  j.  and  now  when,  upon  the 
backs  of  black  republican  masses,  they  have  .exhalted  their 
opinions'  and  their  priests  into  federal  power.  Yet,  in  the 
several  intervals  between  these  periods,  they  have  exhausted 
the  powers  of  their  rhetoric  and  the  vehemence  of  their  vin- 
dictive passions,  in  denouncing  what  they  term  the  unequal 
asperities  of  the  social  and  political  surface. 

It  is  their  fate  to  be  always  busy.  Like  the  wretched  wan- 
dering Jew  of  romance^r  their  lease  of  life  rests  upon  a  cease- 
less activity.  Progress,  whether  towards  evil  or  good,  seems 
to  be  a  necessity  .of  their  rcstless^energetic  natures,  and,  with 
their  propeuiMties",  some  conjecture"  may  be  formed,  from  the 
very  nature  of  the  case,  what  an  amount  of  evil  these  Puri- 
tans have  accomplished.  They  are  of  that  class  whom  the 
sacred  writer  thus  describes:  "The  wicked  are  like  the  trou- 
bled sea  which  canLot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire  and 
dirt." 

While  other  denominations  have  frequently  merited  the 
charge  of  bigotry,  it  has  been  their  peculiar  privilege  to  il- 
lustrate fanaticism.  They  'have  always  been  fanatical  and 
extremists  in  all  things.  The  error  that  was  committed  in 
making  their  standard  unnatural  and  overdrawn,  distorted  their 
vicw.s  and  petrified  and  deformed  what  little  of  nature  they 
had  in  the  beginniBg.  In  the  light  of  their  system,  genuine 
charity  is  an  ever  retreating  phantom  of  the  brain  that  they 
neither  practice  nor  understand,  and  tho.se  who  are.  supposed 
to  possess  rt  difier  from  their  fellows  only  in  being  either  less 
covetou.s  or  more  politic.  For  charity  of  heart,  a  forgiving 
disposition,  and  tenderness  for  the  wretched,  are  virtues  that 


12  THE    TWO   RKBELLIONS; 

never  cto\7  spontanconsiy  in  Puritan  soil,  and  oven  when 
transjilanteil,  liave  but  the  jH-rishalile  beauty  of  the  exotic,  and 
sottu  disappear.  Kitr  these  Christiai)  (|ualities.  whose  importance 
is  so  Irecjueritl}'  dwelt  upim  in  holy  writ,  they,  impusin-j:  upon 
their  inia<:ination8,  substitute  an  artificial  sentimental  sympa- 
thy ftir  the  remotely  distant  oppressed  of  the  Iruman  race, 
artfully  dcluilin;;  their  consciences  by  pretending  to  feel  for 
the  oppressed,  when  the  emotion  is  really  hatred  of  the  pros- 
perous oj)pre8sor.     In  this  way 

"They  rompoand  for  aim  they  are  inclined  to. 
By  dAmnitig  tbodo  they  bare  uu  wind  tu." 

And  so  profitable  do  they  find  this  kind  of  moral  exercise, 
that,  by  their  devotion  t^  it,  they  invariably  succeed  in  mis- 
taking; the  beams  in  their  own  eyes  for  spota  upon  their  ueigh- 
bur's  character. 

With  .such  {general  propensities  as  these,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  they  have  played  the  chief  part  in  the  destruction  of  the 
American  edifice  ol*  civil  and  reliuious  freedom.  In  mercy  to 
the  interest  and  the  hopes  of  the  American  nation,  Providence 
Hcenis  to  have  cast  them  upon  the  cold  and  bleak  hills  of  New 
Kn;:land.  IJut  their  rebellious  natures  were  not  to  be  starved 
or  chilled  into  a  decent  submission  to  the  Divine  will.  And 
the  Devil,  who  never  forsakes  his  friends,  cooyerted  tlie  very 
hardness  of  their  lot  int»»  the  means  of  their  destruction. 
From  the  barren  rocks  of  New  Enjrland,  they  regarded  with 
wishful  eyes  the  fertile  fields  and  comfortable  homes  of  their 
southern  brethren.  In  their  abundance,  and  happy  lots,  they 
discovered  Ji,  partiality  on  the  part  of  l)eit.y,  whicli  made  thera, 
like  Cain,  rebellious  against  (lod  and  anxious  to  slay  their 
bfethren.  And,  meditating  upon  their  comparative  penury 
and  the  luxurious  Vealth  of  their  brethren,  they  surrendered 
themselves  up  to  an  envy  and  hatred,  which  promjited  them  to 
attempt  the  ruin  of  the  South.  That  such  was  their  object, 
they  did  not  of  cour.se  admit  to  themselv«s;  but,  for  the  grati- 
fication of  their  own  consciences,  as  well  as  to  conceal  their 
purposes,  they  called  their  antagonism  to  the  South  the 
antipathy  ol'  free  to  slave  labor  It  may  be  true,  and  perhaps 
is,  tliat  they  disapprove  of  southern  institutions.  But  it  was 
the  corroding  cankers  of  unchristian  envy  and  personal  hatred, 
that  i^iade  them  at  first  the  unconscious,  and  afterwards  the 
•vowed,  enemies  of  the  southern  people. 


0«,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  I." 

Tlieir  hostility  wns  first  manifested  in  their  orations  and 
their  writings.  But  when  they  found  their  arguments  disre- 
garded, and  their  ufficious  counsel  indignantly  s}iurned,  they 
abandoned  the  use  of  moral  force  against  a  stift'-neckcd  people; 
and,  in  the  depths  of  their  fraternal  solicitude  and  aflection, 
proclaimed  a  c^sade  against  their  political  hrethreu  and  ad- 
vocated the  mmtar}'  modes  of  rescuing  people  from  the  con- 
sequences of  their  own  mad  follies. 


CHAPTER   III, 


ABOLITIONISM,  ITS  ORTGIX,  AND  THE  DESIGN   OF  ITS  ACTIIORS. . 

If  it  were  possible  to  state  in  one-  word  the  origin  of  tho 
Brown  movement,  and  the  subsequent  sectional  conflict  ot  which 
it  was  an  integral  pait,  that  one  word  would  be  Puritanism. 
Not  that  it  was  the  011I3'  cause  ;  but  the  })rin<-i))al  one.  Nor  even 
that  it  caus<-d  it  by  directly  making  war  upon  the  Union,  and 
arraying  itself  as  a  se<',t  in  irrepressible  conflict  against  it. 

Il  was  rather  because  it  pervertel  other  itioral  forces  which  were 
the  spontaneous  productions  ot' northern  soil,  and  directed  theui  in 
hostility  against  the  Union.  From  those  evil  propensities  which 
ever  characterize  the  I'uritan  nature,  which  germinated  and 
flourished  and  fructified  with  great  prolificacy,  under  ll»e  fructi- 
fying beams  of  the  northern  sun  of  liberty,  came  the  baleful  in- 
fluence that  withered  the  conservative  principles  of  virtue  in 
northern  society  and  converted  llie  radicalism  which  it  helped 
to  crea'e  into  a  sort  of  politico-ioligious  antagonism  to  southern 
institutions. 

Puritan  ideas  have  long  since  subjugated  the  northern  mind. 
They  cannot  claim  any  dominion  except  what  their  intellectual 
conquests  have  given  them.  But  by  means  of  this  they  have 
acquired  tome  power  over  tlie  northern  heart. 

The  people  of  the  South  possess  the  qualities  of  the  old  cava- 
liers, not  so  much  that  (liey  ate  all  descendants  ot  cavaliers  as 
because  the  cavaliers  have  always  been,  from  the  beginning,  tho 
influential  class.  From  llic  earliest  colonial  settlement  they  havH 
always  held  the  social  power,  and  hence  have  given  laws  to  all 
who  aimed  at  honor  or  distinction. 


•*  TUB     IWO    KEIJELLIONS; 

In  tiio  North,  the  same  is  truA  of  the  Puritans ;  uitli  this  <}»(*- 
f.-renci' :  tlie  influence  exercist-d  hy  tlie  cavalier  in  the  8i>ulh  has 
been  printijially  twijj,  anJ,  tl<roug!i  that  as  a  njeaiis,  j)olitic8 
and  reli^'ion  have,  in  some  measure,  heen  effected.  Tlie  influ- 
e\Kf.  exerte«l  ]iy  the  ruritans  in  the  North,  lias  been,  on  the 
other  hand,  i)nneiiml!y  religiuus,  and  through  that,  political  and 
bocial.  ^ 

Now,  the  historj  of  mankind  indisputably  shows  that  religion, 
wlien  it  strays  from  its  proper  sphere,  ami  interferes  with  the 
jHvlitical  or  social  relations  lias  a  tendency  to  corrupt  and  de- 
grade what  it  designs  to  improve ;  while  soi-ial  influence  over 
j>o:itic£  and  religion  has  always  beeH,  on  the  average,  beneficial. 

Ain\  thus  it  is  that  the  influence  of  tlie  cavalier  in  the  South 
has  had  <»  tendency  to  protluce  those  virtues  of  charity  and  self- 
re.-pect  and  honor,  which  soften  the  acerbities  of  the  political, 
and  adorn  even  the  religious  lif»f ;  while  the  influence  of  the 
I'uritans  in  the  Nortli  has  had  quite  the  opposite  effect.  For 
the  political  and  social  influence  of  seiti*  is  generally  exercised 
by  the  worst  of  their  ni embers  ;  while  the  political  and  religious 
iritluen<'e  exerted  by  a  social  class  is  generally  derived  from  the 
best  of  its  members. 

Hence  it  is  the  Puritanio  sinneffl  of  the  North,  and  the  most 
courtly  gentlemen  of  the  South,  who  have  had  to  do  with  the 
c  ivilizalions  of  their  respective  sections.  The  result  might  have 
been  ea«ily  anticipated. 

Lust  (<f  power,  malice,  envy  and  covetousness,  the  staple  sins 
of  the  I'uritans,  have  produced  in  the  North  their  legitimate 
fruits.  \W  the  help  and  direction  of  Satan,  these  J'uritanic  sins, 
aniinatin'f  and  inipelling  a  respectable  body  of  well-washed, 
white-cravatted  oratoi-s  and  statemen  have,  after  a  desperate 
htruggle  «)f  eight  generations,  finally  succeeded  in  vitiating  the 
wholesome  public  sentiment  of  the  North,  and  converting  a  na- 
tion of  intelligent  |)er8on8  into  a  half-crazed  mass  of  malignant 
fiends. 

It  canTiot  be  denied  that  tliere  were,  in  the  North,  many  mon- 
strous ixms,  wliicli  aimed  ai  the  downfall  of  order  and  the  rights 
..f  property,  with  the  origin  of  whiih  I'uritanism  had  nothing 
to  do.  Many  were  imported  fi(»m  Euroj)e,  while  many  more 
were  of  that  same  radical  brood,  wliiih  the  license  of  free  society 
pro<lu(e8  ii»  all  ages  and  countries.  These  aimed  at  anarchy  un- 
der the  name  of  eijuality.  Ami  for  these  the  I'uritans  are  not 
responsible.  Indeed,  it  cannot  bo  naid  of  them  that  they  are 
enomios  to  order. 


OR,    TREASOX    UNMASKED.  15 

Th<»y  dn  not  writlie  under  the  restraint  of  mere  government,'' 
aulhoiitv;  because  lliey  are  always  confident  of  converting  the 
laws  that  impose  such  "into  the  means  ^f  establishing  their  own 
power.  Thev  do  not  so  much  desire  freedom  from  control,  as 
they  desire  to  control. 

Hence,  tliey  cannot  be  charged  with  the  radicalism  of  thj 
North  though  many  of  their  sect  are  of  that  calling.  But  the 
crime  they  have  to  ;inswer  for  is,  that  they,  witJi  an  art  super-Sa- 
tanic, poured  in  the  crucible  of  their  envious  hearts,  all  the  radi- 
calisms of  the  North.  an<l,  mingling  with  these  their  own  evil 
propensities,  produced  the  arnalr/am  abolitionism.  Peihaps  it 
would  be  a  more  appropriate  figure  of  speech  to  speak  oS  abo- 
litionism as  a.hybred  or  miscegen,  being  the  unnatural  offspring 
of  Puritanisra  and  radicalism.  The  monster  reali-^ed  in  its 
promise  every  unholy  expectation,  every  wicked  desire,  that 
reigned  at  its  inception.  There  was  nothing  at  which  either 
parent  aimed,  but  what  the  common  progeny  gave  promise  of 
being  the  appropriate  means  of  accomplishment.  Puritanism 
saw  in  it  the  means  of  unlimited  power  as  well  as  an  instrument 
of  gratifying  its  pride  and  malice,  and  hence  cherished  it  with 
more  than  jiaternal  fondness. 

Radicalism  dreamed  dreams  of  plunder  and  spoliation,  robbery 
and  revenge,  and  Puritanism  with  a  metaphysical  subtlety,  sharp- 
ened by  a  long  and  successful  practice  upon  its  own  conscience, 
soon  convinced  its  all}-  of  the  ability  of  the  progeny  to  gratify 
all  of  its  bloody  desires.  "  No  slavery."  was  the  cry  of  the  new 
jwrty.  and  the  fiercest  passions  of  which  men  are  capable,  agita- 
ted the  masses  who  took  up  that  watchword. 

It  was  in  vain  people  of  common  sense  and  contented  dispo- 
sitions pointed  to  the  bible,  fnd  from  its  sacred  pages  read  the 
corhlenmation  of  the  new-born  monsU^r.  The  Devil  was  always 
on  hand,  in  the  person  of  some  distinguished,  wise,  and  reverend 
Puritan,  to  pervert  and  darken  the  meaning  of  holy  writ,  and  to 
grow  eloquent  and  shed  tears  of  enthusiasm  over,  some  mean- - 
ingless  proposition  about  the  right,s  of  man. 

Once  again  was  heard  in  the  world,  and  this. time  on  the 
western  hemisphere,  those  stimulating  p;eiins  of  freedom, 
tho!»e  profane  apostrophes  to  liberty,  those  disgusting  invo- 
cations of  the  vengean<-e  of  Deity  upon  all  aristocrats,  and 
those  maxStne  of  agrarianism,  that  ever  madden  when  they 
inspire  the  assa.s5^ins  of  tiieir  beloved  idol.  -It  was  the  mourn- 
ful music  that  always  heralds  tlie  downfall  of  order  and  civil 
liberty.     It   was  the  same  that  had   reverberated  among  iho 


1C»  THE    TWO   aEBELLIOKS; 

graceful  inominionU  of  Atiienian  «rt,  just  Wfoiethe  popular  lust 
of  power  aiul  poM  l);»iiis)n.'<l  ftocdom  fonnpr  froni  tlif  rity.  It 
w:is  tlie  Hain«  llmt  reMUjiKl!.'!  tlirtmsfli  (lio  liniiian  forum  al  the 
f  xui'Iation  of  llie  viupire,  or  was  [leanl  in  nasal  cailence  around 
Wliiteliall  a>i  the  prauij  preliuiinary  <  horus  to  CrotTiweH's  aoceS- 
Moii  to  altRohito  j)ow«r.  Tlio  reil  was  ex<-liaFiired  for  the  black 
haiinor  of  repuMitjinistn,  sind  the  oM  story  of  rfpuhlics  was  re- 
]i(*at('(l-^lhe  iiiasbcs  bliiid«'d  l»v  h  -trod,  envy  and  l«>ve  of  plunder, 
digtjing.  un«ler  the  very  altars  of  freedom,  Tts  everlastinfj  tjrave. 

It  was  no'  only  in  the  pulpit  and  the  Ic^i.slative  c.hainhers  that 
the  unholy  allianro  of  radicalism  and  l^uritanism  ma<le  war  up- 
on the  southern  ]»eople.  Every  jiossihle  channel  of  tuinmuni- 
oation  with  the  popular  mind  was  seizetl  with  military  piecisioB, 
and  made  an  avenue  of  aliat-k.  Su<  h  was  the  admirahle  dispo- 
hitioii  and  skillful  massing  of  the  moral,  or  rather  immoral  forces, 
to  capture  and  irritate  the  northern  tnind,  that  any  one  wlio  re- 
views the'r  su<'<essful  exj)editions  against  truth  and  virtue,  is 
obliged  to  conclude  that  the  Devil  himself,  with  a  compl-te 
corps  of  military  advisers  mapped  out  the  ])lans  and  .conducted 
the  campaign  in  person.  Newspapers  and  jiampldeus  school- 
books  and  iiistories,  poems  and  romances,  psalms  and  ballads, 
works  on  law  and  theology,  juiisMrudence  anil  religion,  moral 
and.  natural  s<-ience,  astronoudcal  and  gastronomital  subjecU*, 
plirenohgv  and  animal  magnetism,  almana<-s,  travelling  com- 
panions, city  directories,  and  advertisements  of  i|Uack  medicines, 
were  all  imp'<?ssed  to  servo  tlie  purposes  of  Satan  in  propagating 
and  spreading  abolitionism.  ^ 

Th,?  oi>era'ionp  of  the  enemy  were  not  confined  to  America, 
though,  pel  haps,  the  field  headquarters  may  be  said  to  have  been 
e»tablislied  in  Boston  for  a  long  time.  In  Europe,  however,  his 
heaviest  columns  were  found,  tliough  these  were  not  so  actively 
engaged  as  those  in  America.  Then,  ra<iicalihni  wj^s  tlie 
eldest,  though  peihapsnol  the  most  native  to  the  soil;  while 
Puritanism,  uiuler  one  name  or  another  of  the  ditferent  ascetic 
offsi  ootsof  Calholicism   had  existed  in  Euiope  for  (Vnturiea. 

Abolitiotdsm  was  a  (Joil-send  to  the  radi<  alists  particularly, 
but,  in  some  degree,  to  the  p<»litirians  of  all  classes  in  I  iirope. 

Itadicalism  nwded  asubj.tt,  the  ventilation  of  which  furnished 
n  fine  Hel<l  for  the  display  of  ilieir  social  dogmas;  s«unelhiiig  to 
serve  as  an  insidious  means  of  attack,  without  compelling  an 
open  opposition  to  the  existing  in>litulious 

Fiom  the  "  micivili/ed  homes"  of  slavery  the  monarchical 
I'olitjciaus  were  delighted  to  diaw  parallels  that  reflected  credit 


on,   TllEASON*    rN'MASKED. 


IT 


upon  the  bcnigh  (1ep])oti'sms  of  tlicir  own  country.  Connecting' 
the  institutiotrand  its  wdl  known  cliaiaclor  as  a  necessary  ron- 
coinitant  of  re|tu1»!iiajiisni  in  Anieiiia,  upon  that  they  founded 
an  figunient  that  eoinnieiided  ft;\idal  despotism  to  all  lovers  of 
order  and  mankind. 

The  liberals  and  eonservatlvcn  were  no  lesa  ])leased  with  the 
new-fangled  idea.  They  were  de!ii>lUed  to  find  n  subject  upon 
whitdi,  in  sweet  fraternal  harmony,  they  eould  ji<in  with  the  radi- 
cali!*ip  in  their  passionate  denunciations  of  oj)pression.  • 

While  abolitionism  was  thus  aeceptable  to  the  violent  nnd 
the  de«ignino;  ot  all  political  narties,  it  was  no  less  so  to  the  vain 
babblei^jind  fanatics  of  religion.  Tliey  welcomed  a  theme,  in 
the  discussion  of  which  their  vanity  and  their  selfishness  was 
gratified  by  a  conteniplaliou  of  the  wickedness  of  their  fellow- 
creatures,  while  tiiey  were  pleased  with  the  opportunity  which  it 
aftorded  of  gratifying  tiieir  pet  sins  of  pride  and  tnalice.  In  this* 
way  anti-sIaver^  sentiiucnis  became  first  popular,  and  then  fash- 
'  ionable.  It  made  its  way  everywhere  It  entered  the  hut  and  the 
p'dace  alike.  It  was  toasted  with  enthusiasm- over  the  bumpers 
of  I  ome-biewed,  and  proc.lamed  by  the  most  distinguished  attho 
festive  boards  of  the  great.  All  classes  of  society  adopttd  it 
with  a  zeal  that  was  akin  to  fanaticism ;  and  such  was  its  prev- 
alence tliat  it  finally  took  possession  of  the  very  thrones.  Its 
profession  became  the  evidence  of  philanthropy,  the  touchstone 
of  humanity,  anil  the  test  of  European  civilization.  To  be  with- 
out it  was  to  be  barbarous,  and  to  be  a  slaveholder  was,  in  the 
opinion  of  Europe,  to  be  guilty  of  an  unpardonable  crime 
against  universal  j)rogress. 

Never,  since  the  days  of  Peter  the  Hermit,  had  Europe  found 
Itself  so  agitated  by  a  single  emotion,  so  united  in  a  single  ani- 
mosity.    The  forum,  the  pulpit,  the  court  and  the  press,  met* 
upon  the  platform  of  anti-slavery,  and  recognised  their  naternily 
in  their  common  hatied  of  the  slaveholder. 

America  and  Euiope  acted  and  reacted  upon  each  other,  either, 
each  time,  gaining  strength  in  its  antipathy  to  slavery.  And  thus 
it  was,  thai  the  last  generation  of  the  Christian  world,  with  the  ex- 
C'ption  of  ihat  of  the  Confederate  States,  were  bred  and  educa- 
te<l  in  an  abhorrence  of  slavery  and  slaveholders.  Public  opinion 
had  everywhere  yeilded  to  the  energetic  invasion  of  abolition, 
eo  far  as  their  speculative  coni-luaions  were  so!icite<i.  Nay,  the; 
South  itself,  at  one  time,  tottered  Uf>on  the  brink  of  gradual 
emancipation:  Tlie  cnnning  sophi'^tries  of  nasal  philosopher.^ 
and  seniatiujjHrhuuianiUiiaus,  Lad  at  oue  time  made  serious  in- 


IS  Tnc  Twp  nEp_ELij,o;ss ; 

roails  .iron  tlie  soulh«»m  belief  in  tlio  morality  of  iluir  institu- 
tions; aii«l  tln'ir  in.'^i.iious  attncks.  ll)rou[;]i  ])anij<lilets,  ningazineu, 
and  p<-hoo!-b«K)ks,  Jiad  \v.>ll-nirrb  canied  the  citadel  of  their 
htrentjih  l»efoie  itsunsnspcctintr  sentinels  were  alanned. 

Tlie  work  of  exposinjx  the  finely  spun  webs  of  abolition  falla 
•  ie.o,  was  by  no  nieanis  «litii<iilt,  however,  for  the  Sontli,  when  the 
necessity  ap]>eared,  and  the  une<^nivocal  adniii^sion  of  the  moral- 
ity  of  slavery  by  the  first  ("hristian  ajiostlcs.  gave  weight  to  thd 
arguments  in  its  favor  among  a  jieojtle  who  had  not  yet,  like . 
liiose  of  the  North,  felt  the  need  of  an  anti-slaverv  bible. 

Yet  while  it  was  easy  to  exjiose  their  fallacies  and  refute  their 
reasoning,  it  was  a  much  jnore  serious  undertaking  to  eradicate 
the  i>reju<lice9  which  had  been  implanted  in  the  soil  of  the  youth- 
ful hearts,  by  their  <lesjiicable  school-books  and  histories,  and  had 
futwined  themselves  almost  indissolubly  with  youth's  noblest 
dreams  of  usefulness. 

And,  hence,  though  the  efforts  of  abolition  served  but  to 
illuminate  and  unite  the  southern  mind,  in  regard  to  slavery, 
yet  they  did  not  fail  to  make  sonie  few  converts  to  their  doc- 
trines out  of  those  southern  intellectual  inibeeiles,  who  con- 
founded tlio  obscure  puggcfctions  of  early  prejudices  with  the 
conclusions  of  their  reason. 

"When  abolitionism  thus  failtvl  in  its  intellectual  attempts  upon 
the  rights  of  the  South,  mad  with  disappointed  malice,  it  aban- 
doned itself  to  tliosft  bloody-minded  I'uritans  who  from  the  fii^st 
liad  preached  extermination  vf  the  slaveholder.  In  tJieir  eyes, 
gangrened  with  rancorous  hate,  envy,  and  nidioly  ambition,  tho 
destruction  of  tlie  slaveholder  l>ecame  the  sacred  duty  of  every 
righteous  lover  of  freedom.  Under  the  iiiHuence  of  the  madness 
that  possess  them,  murder  and  robbery  and  arson  were  traJisferred 
^roiii  the  list  of  crimes  an<i"registered  among  the  abolition  virtues. 
Falsehood,  wlii(d)  had  always  been  held  by  the  Puritans  a  species 
of  virtue  when  told  for  the  benelifof  the  faith,  was  now  legiti- 
mize! and  esteemed  a  most  excellent  accomplishment ;  and  every 
(lescription  of  little,  low,  and  mean  action,  became  respectable, 
when  performed  against  the  siavchohler.  There  was  no  obliga- 
tion of  religion  or  humanity  that  did  not  yield  to  the  divinely 
imposed  necessity  of  exterminating  the  slaveholder. 

Even  the  cardinal  viitues  of  the  Puritans,  frugality,  sobriety, 
and  religious  worship,  all  of  whi<di  claimed  their  niain  in|hience 
npon  the  habitf;  of  the  laymen,  frotn  the  ten<lency  of  their  practice 
to  gratify  their  }>ride  and  eovetousness,  even  these  were  neglected 
in  their  mad  fdolatrv  of  tho  new  God. 


OB,   TREASDN    L'^MASKEP.  19 

And,  now,  that  thev  had  surrendered  tbeinsolvos  np  to  Iho 
i^elisrhtful  euiotior.s  of  fanatical  bate  and  envy,  from  one  single 
stanJ-poinL  of  moral  vision  tlioy  viewed  everything,  and  even 
went  so  far  as  to  repudiate  and  denounce  the  oblijrHtion  of  obe- 
dience to  both  human  and  Divine  law.  Siu  b  is  the  history  of 
the  intellectual  revolution  which  radicalism  and  Puritanism  ef- 
fected in  conjunction,  and  such  was  the  iniquitous  conception  ia 
which  their  wicked  desires  culiniuated. 


C HATTER   IV 


JOnK  BROWK,  THE  TYilE    AND    GOD  OF  ABOLITION' — UI3   KAULY    LIFE 
AND    FIRST    IMPRESSIONS. 

John  Brown  was  a  full-blooded  Puritan.  According  to  the 
Btatements  of  his  worshippers,  he  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  a 
saint  of  the  same  name  who  came  across  the  Atlantic  in  the 
ever-memorable  vessel  of  history,  known  as  the  ]May  Flower. 
Upon  the  barren  rock  of  Plymouth,  this  paternal  ancestor  and 
founder  of  an  illustrious  line,  landed  with  the  rest  of  his 
noble  compatriots.  ^Vhat  his  especial  calling  was  in  the  new 
colony,  is  buried  in  oblivion;  but  it  may  safely  be  conjectured, 
that,  like  the  rest  of  his  brethren,  he  devoted  iiiost  of  his  time 
to  tilling  his  farm,  making  butter  and  cheese,  preaching,  burn- 
ing  witches  and  hanging  other  less  obnoxious  heretics.  This, 
indeed,  may  be  said  of  most  of  John's  ancestors,  who  flourished 
in  tliose  good  old  times. 

The  biographers  of  John  seem  to  take  great  pleasure  in  as- 
serting, with  much  emphasis,  that  all  of  his  paternal  ancestors 
were  remarkable  for  their  piety  and  firmness.  This  is  the  lan- 
euage  of  all  the  school  books  in  speaking  of  the  character  of  the 
New  England  Puritans;  and  it  should  be  properly  understood. 
There  were,  beyond  a  doubt,  certain  virtues  which  the  cold 
climate  and  sterile  soil  imposed  as  absolute  necessities  upon 
all  New  England  people;  and  these,  perhaps,  flourished  in  the 
Brown  family  in  much  luxuriance.  They  were,  in  all  proba- 
bility, industrious  and  sober  and  frugal.  Most  I*uritans  are. 
But,  whether  these  habits  of  life  were  entitled  to  the  name  of 
virtues,  is  to  be  dctermiued  by  tho  motives  which  prompted 


?0  THE   TTfG*  REBEttlONS; 

their  practice.  This  is  the  test  before  a  tribunal  a  little  more 
roliabic  than  tho  historiographers  of  abolitiouism.  People  are 
not  pcrtuittcd  to  make  virtues  of  their  necessities  anJ  then 
{.'et  par  estiniutcs  fur  thcni  on  the  heavenly  record.  Tliere  the 
j^old  is  sepcratcd  from  the  alloy  before  it  is  weiglied,  and  tho 
counterfeit'^  are  rejected  altojrelhcr.  One  of  John  Brown's 
ancestors  was  a  revolutionary  soldier,  and,  "from  him,"  guy 
liis  hiofrrapher.s,  "he  inherited  that  iudoiuituble  courage  for 
which  he  was  ever  di.'-tinguished." 

The  Puritans,  as  a  class,  are  not  cowards.  Being  extremi.-^ta, 
on  acco\int  of  their  overdrawn  standard,  they  fight  with  the 
certain  assurance  that  they  are  the  favorites  of  God  or  tho 
Devil.  Those  who  doubt  whether  the  angel  of  the  Lord  en- 
camps about  them,  are  perfectly  sure  that  Satan  has  spared 
some  of  his  household  guards  for  that  purpose.  Still  their 
courage  never  deserves  the  descriptive  indomitable,  but  should 
more  projterly  be  called  du(j(jcd.  For,  if  th^y  have  an}'  in 
addition  to  that  fanatic  zeal  which,  in  some  form  or  other, 
generally  possesses  them,  it  is  of  that  character  which  the 
bull  dog  has,  who,  once  having  fixed  his  fangs  in  his  enemy's 
vitals,  is  so  intoxicated  with  the  charm  of  inflicting  misery, 
that  lie  forgets  his  own  dangers. 

John  JJrowu  was  born  in  Essc.v  county,  New  York,  (so  it  is 
said.)  From  his  earliest  infancy  he  displayed  those  (jualitiea 
of  the  heart  and  mind,  which  gave  promise  of  his  singular 
Juturc.  He  was  a  .^Jerious,  solemn  child.  Those  sports  and  in- 
nocent pastimes,  which  children  usually  take  so  much  delight 
in,  had  no  charms  for  him.  He  was  continually  meditating 
upon  plans  of  action  which  he  never  told,  and  which  eani»nly 
be  inferred  from  his  Bubsc(|ucnt  careor.  His  ruminations  took 
ti  contemplative  turn.  His  irleas  were  always  entirely  r»riginal 
and  singular.  And,  even  when  a  child,  he  was  ahead  of  his 
age  in  his  apprehension  of  the  dignify  of  his  species.  His 
thoughts  took  a  metaphysical  turn,  rather  than  philosophical, 
as  those  of  most  children  do;  and  while  yet  a  mere  boy,  ho 
reflected  upon  tliose  mysterious  things  called  rights.  For, 
while  other  boys  arc  always  quick  to  recognise  the  existence 
of  such  things,  they  generally  busy  themselves  with  applying 
the  i)opular  notions  in  regard  to  their  own  case,  without  in- 
vestigating tho  truth  or  lulsify  of  the  same.  But  John,  ag 
occasionally  lioys  will  do,  (juestioned  the  truth  of  those  dogmas 
of  mankind,  whenever  he  discovered  that  their  proper  apjili- 
catiou  iutcrfcrred  with  his  interest  or  couveuicnce.     AVith  a 


OR,    TREASOxN    UNMASKED.  21 

childish  precocity  in  logic,  that  invariably  produces  a  foolish 
man,  he  disputed  every  rule  of  lite  that  the  wisdom  of  man- 
kind had  sanctioned,  which  did  not  agree  with  his  abstract 
notions  of  right.  Egotistical,  vain  and  obstinate,  and  withal 
dreamy,  his  early  speculations  were,  in  all  prubability,  exceed- 
ingly interesting  and  radical.  M'ith  little  veneration  for  the 
wisdom  of  miinkind,  among  whom,  no  doubt,  his  venerable  ' 
parents 'were  included,  he  yet  paid  great  respect  to  what  he 
in)agined  were  the  opinions  of  the  Almighty.  And  those 
which  he  discovered  coniucided  pretty  much  with  his  own  he 
silently  cherished,  in  despite  of  the  thrashings  which  they 
doubtless  frequently  got  for  him.  Given  thus  up  to  personal 
musing  and  contemplation,  he  very  soon  began  to  think  that 
there  were  few  persons  in  the  world  beside  himself  who  ought 
to  be  proud"  of  their  existence;  and,  the  fact  that  he  concealed 
this  truth  in  a  great  measure  from  other  people,  was  satis- 
factory evidence  to  him  that  he  was  a  perfect  pattern  of 
humility. 

His  first  desire  seems  to  have  been  to  acquire  wealth.  This 
master  propensity  never  failed  to  assert  its  supremacy  in  youth 
or  old  age.  And,  even  upon  the  occasions  when  he  professed  to 
be  most  deeply  imbued  with  those  humanitarian  notions,  which 
never  left  him,  he  never  failed  to  take  advantage  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  make  a  little  money. 

Durin^the  war  of  1812,  in  the  days  of  blue  lightsand  Hart- 
ford conf^ntions.  when  the  sturdy  and  industrious  and  vir- 
tuous Puritan  fathers  preferred  peace  with  disgrace,  to  honor- 
able war  with  pecuniary  loss,  John  Brown  was  yet  a  boy.  His  " 
fatlier,  no  doubt,  sharing  in  that  feeling  of  disapprobation  of 
the  war  which  prevailed  in  New  England,  instead  of  indulg- 
ing in  the  infamous  blue-light  method  of  aiding  his  country's 
enemies,  preferred  the  profitable  treason  of  selling  cattl(^to 
the  British  and  pocketing  their  gold. 

John,  it  soems,  according  to  his  admiring  biographer, 
(Redpath,)  being  a  lad  of  great  energ}',  materially  assisted  his 
father  in  this  treasonable  business.  It  was  here  that  he  first  dis- 
phiycd  those  qualities  of  self-reliance  and  boldness,  which  after- 
wards he  exhibited  in  such  a  remarkable  degree.  It  was  here, 
too,  he  first  displaycl  a  more  than  usual  ability  in  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  topograj)hy  of  a  country,  to  avoid  or  escape  from 
A  dangerous  fjp.  llis  biographer  does  not  say  what  other  re- 
markable natural  qualities  he  here,  for  the  first  time,  displayed. 
But  it  is  reasonable  to  buppuse,  from  the  character  of  his  busi- 


22  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

Bess,  tliat  he  here  displayed,  though  it  may  he  not  for  the 
first  time,  an  unusual  taloiit  lor  succes.sfully  approjtriatiiig^^'® 
property  of  others,  for  which  he  was,  upon  more  thau  one  oc- 
casion afterwards,  quite  remarkahle. 

"  It  was  here,"  says  Redpath,  "  that  he  contracted  that 
horror  of  war  which  never  afterwards  left  hiui."  It  is  certainly 
not  singular  that  a  uieniher  of  the  human  family  with  rational 
faculties,  should  have  a  natural  horror  of  war  without  waiting 
to  cojitract  it;  much  less  that  one  should  do  so  who  witnesses 
it.  But,  it  does  seem  that,  if  there  is  any  occasion  when  one 
is  called  on  to  praise  war  and  esteem  it  a  blc-sing,  it  is  when 
he  is  not  expected  to  fight,  but  is  permitted  to  eng;ige  in  aa 
unlawful  trade  thart  the  existence  of  war  renders  exceedingly 
])rofitable.  There  were,  no  doubt,  moments  during  this  period 
of  Treasonable  traflfic  with  the  enemy,  when  the  youthful  John 
conceived  a  "horror  for  war."  Sometimes,  perhaps,  when 
higgling  over  the  price  of  a  Connecticut  bull  with  a  British 
commissary,  and  finding  his  Yankee  pertinacity  outdone  by 
British  obstinacy;  perhaps  when  shot  at  by  American  pickets, 
or  relieved  of  his  unlawful  earnings  by  remorseless  guerrillas; 
hut  cprtBinly  not  when  just  having  etfeeted  a  successlul  run, 
did  the  sentimental  John  conceive  his  ineradicable  ''horror 
of  war."  It  was,  perhaps,  with  the  profifs  accummulated  in 
this  business,  that  the  father  of  John  purchased  the  paternal 
estate  upon  which  he  afterwards  lived,  and  the  ^emory  of 
whose  broad  acres  ever  stimulated  the  enterprising  youth  to 
become  a  landholder. 

,']  Ilis  education  seems  to  have  been  limited,  though  from 
specimens  of  his  composition,  he  appears  to  have  picked  up, 
at  some  time  during  his  life,  a  vigorous,  though  executive,  style 
of  writing.  His  books  were  lew,  his  time  being  pretty  much 
o«!«cupied  between  the  labors  of  the  farm  and  the  intellectual 
recreations  which  the  long-winded  Puritan  preachers  afforded. 
lie  is  said  to  have  been  a  young  man  of  piety,  and  very  at- 
tentive at  Sal)l>ath  service.  Tlie  latter  no  doubt  was  true,  but 
the  former  must  be  received  with  a  few  grains  of  allowance. 
No  duubt  he  was  a  punctual  attendant  at  divine  worship,  and 
occupied  a  good  deal  of  his  time  in  meditating  upon  the  ser- 
mons that  he  heard.  But,  he  was  of  that  peculiar  class  of 
minds,  that  receive  nothing  as  truth  hut  what  contributes,  in 
some  measure,  to  the  gratification  of  an  iniB-dinate  vanity. 
This  seems  to  have  been  tlie  case  at  quite  an  early  age.  He 
WU3  one  of  those  children,  who  always  kuow  better  than  any- 


oil,    THEASON    UNMASKED.  23 

t>ody  else,  and  what  they  do  not  know  is  not  worth  knowing-. 
I'l'hoy  have  their  plans  iu  life,  and  they  intend  to  carry  them 
lout.  It'  what  is  preached  to  them  does  not  interfere  with 
[their  grand  ])rog-ramme,  it  is  approA^ed  and  laid  hy  for  more 
jiliature  consideration.  If  it  does,  the  preacher  is  a  fool,%nd 
'his   notions  are  beneath  the  notice  of  men  of  sense.  * 

Now,  John  seems  to  have  alwayir  felt  the  binding  force  of 
those  virtues,  industry,  sobriety,  and  frugality.  Perhaps  when 
yet  a  child,  with  his  mind  still  a  tabula  rasa,  and  with  an  ori- 
ginal propensity  to  hold  on  with  tenacity  to  first  impressions, 
ttie  propriety  of  possessing  these  virtues  was  indelibly  impressed 
upon  his  memory.  They  are  certainly  the  first  that  are  taught 
to  the  child' in  all  Puritan  families,  and  frequently  the  only 
ones.  The  latter  seems  to  have  happened  with  regard  to  John. 
But  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  they  occupied  his  youthful 
heart,  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other,  from  the  want  of  suffi- 
cient instruction,  or,  because,  being  the  first  comers,  they  so 
chimed  in  with  his  personal  propensities  that  he  formed  with 
these  a  charming  programme  of  life  which  he  could  not  bear 
to  have  broken.  Perhaps  each  had  something  to  do  with  his 
apparent  ignorance  of  all  the  other  virtues,  besides  these  three 
cardinal  ones  of  the  Puritan  faith.  Certainly  it  is  not  to  be 
presumed  that  he  learned  much  about  cliarity,  and  the  multi- 
tude of  minor  virtues  that  follow  in  its  train,  from  a  father 
who  made  most  of  his  money  by  supplying  beef  to  the  enemies 
of  his  country. 

To  an  inordinate  desire  of  wealth,  John  added  a  more  than 
ordinary  love' of  power  and  notoriety.  That  he  was  ambitious, 
the  whole  history  of  his  life  demonstrates ;  but  his  ambition 
seems  first  to  have  spent  itself  in  an  effort  to  acquire  property. 
It  was  this  passion  which,  as  in  the  case  of  most  all  Puritan 
youths,  possessed  him  entirely  at  first.  This  is  proved  more 
by  his  reputation  for  stinginess  than  by  any  unusual  success. 
For  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  skillful,  but  only  anx- 
ious to  make  money.  He  lacked  judgment  and  capacity  rather 
than  energy;  and  this  is  discoverable  in  his  whole  life.  He 
was  one  of  those  unfortunate  beings  who  arc  agitated  with 
desires  and  aspirations  disproportionate  to  their  capacities. 
All  his  life  he  found  himself  overreached  and  disappointed. 
Hence  it  was  natural  for  him,  when  finally  frustrated  in  all  his 
;p'ans  of  aggrandizement,  to  resort  to  any  desperate  chance  that 
;  otJcjred  itself.  Natures  like  his,  with  a  similar  experience,  are 
ocrU*!^  to  terminate  a  career  of  misfortune  in  crime,  if  not  re- 


24  THE   TWO   REBELLION'S  ) 

Rtraincd  hy  a  strength  of  moral  principle  proportionate  to  tti* 
Btrength  of  their  i)r()pcn.silics;  and  this  John  did  not  have. 
lie  Was,  it  is  said,  a  poiupuluus  adlieretit  to  his  theory  of  duty. 
But»l)c  got  his  theory  from  a  heart  prompted  by  sinful  passion. 
That  I'uritan  illusion  of  confounding  eovctousness  with  inno- 
cent thrift,  miserly  aljStemjousnes.«  with  temperance,  and  hyp- 
ocritical cant  with  the  language  of  real  devotion,  made  an  early 
victim  of  the  anibitiou.s  John.  He  was  none  the  less,  how- 
over,  an  exemplary  member  of  the  I'uritan  church.  Indeed, 
he  is  spoken  of  by  his  admirers  as  having  always  been  a  pat# 
tern  of  I'uritan  purity. 

While  still  a  youth,  no  doubt,  he  began  to  hear,  those  moral 
lectures  about  human  rights  and  huiuan  capabilities,  which 
haTc  generally  constituted  the  sermons  of  Puritan  ministers. 
From  these  he  first  learned  to  apply  his  radical  ideas  to  the 
apprehension  of  the  oppressed  conditiondf  thd  Africans  of  the 
iSouth.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  John  Brown,  at  an 
early  period  of  his  life,  was  troubled  with  more  than  a  mere 
feeling  of  disap|)robation  of  slavery,  and  this,  no  doubt,  existed 
alongside  of  similar  opinions  with  regard  to  existing  institu- 
tions at  the  North.  It  was  not  until  circumstances  of  advcr 
sity  hud  filled  hi«  Heart  with  the  bitternes.s  of  disajipointment 
that  he  turned  for  consolation  to  his  speculative  opinions,  and, 
under  the  influence  of  the  ofators  of  abolitionism  and  his  own 
bad  passions,  found  a  dernier  resort  in  becoming  a  practical 
abolitionist. 

Tiiifi  was  not  the  usual  mode. by  which  abolitionism  entered 
the  I'uritan  mind.  Abolitionism,  generally,  enters  the  Puritan 
mind  from  the  propensity  of  the  Puritan  nature,  or  character, 
to  substitute  sentiment  for  practical  religion,  and  from  the 
eheri.shing  of  a  constant  desire  to  extenuate  its  own  frailties  by 
magnifying  those  of  others.  The  natural  consequence  of  tin' 
indulgence  of  these  propensities  is  to  supplant  any  posslbK: 
feelings  of  love,  which  is  goodness,  by  feelings  of  hatred  and 
all  uncdiaritableness,  which  is  wii-kedness.  And  when  tliis  is 
accomplished,  the  .singular  illusion  is  found  to  exist  of  people 
g(»ing  through  all  the  forms  and  using  all  the  language  of  ear- 
nest devotion,  and  imagining  while  they  do  it  that  the  sinful 
fijclings  which  animate  their  hearts  are  those  of  charity  and  love. 
Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  that  to  satisfy  a  Puritan's  eon.science, 
who,  like" the  rest  of  our  fallen  race,  is  always  trying  to  patch 
up  some  kind  of  compromise  with  the  troublesome  monito 
within,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  give  him  something  that  as" 


oJi 


OR,    TRKASON    UNMASKED.  2D 

for  Ills  love  aud  hate  at  the  sauic  time — hatred  for  (he  8inner 
and  love  for  his  victim.  It  is  all  lie  wauts  to  work  ont  his  own 
salvation,  icilhonl  "  fear  and  tre^nbling."  For,  he  will  nurse  his 
wrath  with  a  miser's  care,  imagining  that  from  it  may  be  de- 
rived that  charity  of  heart  and  love  of  mankind  w^hich  every 
man  needs.  So,  thnt  it  may  be  truly  said,  there  is  an 
aching  void  in  the  Puritanic  heart  for  something  to  hate. 
They  like  to  practice  the  divine  habit  of  being  angry  with  the 
wicked  every  day.  They  feel  that  they  are  better  and  stronger 
when  they  have  in  their  minds'  eye  some  apparently  awful  sin- 
ner, upon  whom  tht'y  can  pour  out  all  the  vials  of  their  sacred 
wrath  ;  just  a?  the  devotion  of  the  Pharisee,  in  the  parable,  was 
heightened  by  the  presence  of  the  Publican;  and,  when  this 
needful  sinner  does  not  turn  jip  of  his  own  accord,  like  his  pet 
sin,  they  are  sure  to  find  him  out;  and  they  will  not  let  him 
alone  when  once  they  have  found  him.  For  though,  like 
Ephraim,  he  may  be  joined  to  his  idols,  they  will  not  let  Ijim 
alone.  They  will  expostulate  and  reason ;  they  will  threaten 
and  bully,  and  never  seem  to  get  tired  of  trying  to  ruake  him 
think  as  they  do,  while,  all  the  time,  they  do  not  desire  what 
they  are,  apparently,  so  anxious  to  bring  about. 

Fiist  it  was  the  anli-i-hrist  and  woman  of  Babylon,  that  fur- 
nislie  I  the  fruitful  tln^me  for  exhortation  and  self-gratulation  ; 
then  came  the  Ania!«'kitish  people  of  Old  England.*  They  tiever 
tired  of  dwelling  upon  the  horrible  crimes  of  those,  and  of  re* 
freshing  their  minds  with  the  pleasant  scenes  of  torment  and 
niispry,  that  they  knew  were  piepared  for  such  vile  sinners. 
Then  <-ame  the  wi'ches  and  quikers  and  other  miserable  lieietics 
of  New  England.  The  quakers  and  other  heretics,  who  fi^II  into 
their  hanf^s,  were  mercifully  allowed  the  privilege  of  beintr  hung  ; 
but,  for  tho«se  incorrigible  old  women,  a  more  horrible  fate  was 
resa*ved.  With  a  sense  of  propriety,  that  would  only  sn^rgest 
il.«elf  to  fieniiish  natures  tln-y  destroyed  them  in  the  elenient 
with  which  they  wore  suppo.sed  to  be  most  familiar,  and  gave 
them,  while  yet  in  huuKin  form,  a  foretaste  of  that  ]iunislirnent 
whiidi  they  were  believed  to  be  helping  S  itan  to  piepare  for 
others'  After  the  witches  and  the  quakers,  came  first  one  thing 
and  then  another;  but  nothing  permanent  or  lasting.  All  tlm 
sources  of  consf.lation  and  of  edification  of  the  church  seemed 
to  have  dried  up;  and  it  is  probable  that  during  (iiis  interreg- 
num, as  it  were,  of  Pafan,  divisions  and  lukewarnmess  sprung  up 
in  the  church.  Soon,  however,  Afiican  slaveJ-y  was  introduced. 
But,  for  some  time,  tlw»  subject  was  not  ventilated,  ou  account  of 
3 


-*')  I  HE    iWu   KEBtLLIO.V^;; 

many  of  tlie  most  prosperous  elders  being  slaveholders  and  slave* 
dealers  tlieinselves.  Tkey  sjieedily  got  rid  of  thiir  j)roperty 
which  had  alwayt*  proved  unprufuable,  and  which  now  ihrealened 
to  he  more  ro. 

Tliose  pillaiB  of  the  chtinh  having  disposed  of  (heir  "human 
chattels,"  to  the  highest  bidder,  and,  perhaps,  having  put  a  little 
of  the  })roceeds  of  the  sale  in  the  c oilers  of  the  saints,  the  storm 
of  wrath  began  its  inutteriugs  against  the  dainable  crime  of 
slavery. 

.Never  were  the  dews  of  heaven  more  grateful  to  a  parched 
and  thirsty  soil,  than  was  the  inexlmustible  subject  of  the  sins  of 
slavery  to  the  self-righteous  Puritan  mind.  From  its  discussion 
were  wrought  nurades  of  reform.  It  served  as  the  golden  cord 
nf  brotherhood  and  the  magic  wand  that  melted  the  very 
heart  of  the  people,  and  restored  thC  lost  feelings  of  fraternity  and 
love.  In  the  congenial  ardor  of  a  common  di.saj)]>robatioii,  a 
common  hate,  and  a  common  envy,  a  fellowship  was  formed 
which  the  I'uritans  mistook  for  Christian  fraternity. 

Never  had  a  subject  elicitetl  so  much  interest  before;  and,  in 
:i  short  time  it  became  the  most  popular  and  the  most  profitable 
aversion  that  the  priests  of  the  faifli  had  yet  (discovered.  The 
more  it  was  e.xamined  into,  the  m*nr«i  perfectly  bewitching  and 
agreeable  it  was  found  to  be  And  while  it  ha.i  becanje  a  pro- 
verb that,  '' t^e  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  sy'i  the  church 
of  God,"  in  the  case  of  the  Puritans  it  was  the  imagined  shed- 
ding of  African  blood  that  gave  unity  and  strength  to  their  sect. 
Slavery  being,  essentially,  an  institution  so  opposite  in  itspracti- 
«'al  character  to  every  Puritan  iilea  of  the  dignity  of  their  species, 
ihey  were  not  slow  to  credit,  as  belonging  to  it,  every  horrible 
•  luality  conceivable;  while  their  hatretl  and  envy  of  the  slave- 
holder, made  them  dw«ll  upon  and  exaggerate  all  the  extrava- 
gant things  they  heard. 

It  was  the  thing  of  all  things  which  they  needed  toleavenihe 
•whole  I'uritfin  camp.  At  last  their  desire  had  been  gratified, 
.•ind  a  field  of  initjuity  had  been  found  fiom  which  a  prurient 
fancy  could  gather  a  dish  of  horror  whenever  the  dyspejitic  soul 
of  tiie  aHlicted  needed  it.  It  is  true  that  the  showing  nppf  the 
"hideous  thing"  was  as  full  of  falsehood  as  rhetoric;  but  that 
was  no  dillerence,  their  end  was  gaineil.  With  a  sensation  of 
delight,  they  sludied  the  theme  as  one  would  jxilish  a  llatttring 
inirrov  to  contemplate  the  e.\cellent  beauties  of  their  own  coun- 
ttMiance.  llomance  and  history  wcTo  ransacked  for  illustrative 
]>arrallels  of  tho  iniquitous  deeds  of  slavery.     The  jnachinea  of 


OR,    TREASON     UNMASKED.  .27 

torture  of  the  Spanish  inquisition,  the  ingenious  living  tombs  of 
the  Roman  emperors,  tlie  ihumb-screws  of  Queen  Maiy,  and  the 
awful  contrivaiiees  of  the  blood-thirsty  despots  of  Turkey,  China, 
Japan,  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  were  mere  harndess  toys  com- 
pared to  those  inconceivable  engines  of  cruelly  which  every 
southern  planter  kept  in  his  back  parlor.  But,  it  was  not  the 
inhuman  cruelties  or  the  irreclaimable  viciousness  of  the  slave- 
holder that  provoked  the  holy  Puritan  so  much  as  his  unp>ardou- 
able  arrogance  in  holding  men  as  property. 

This  was  the  most  heinous  of  his  sins.  Had  he  limited  him- 
self to  his  blood  hounds,  his  cat-o-nine-tails,  his  thumb-screws, 
and  other  like  instruments  of  torture,  the  sinner  had  not  been 
past  prajing  for.  But  when  he  dared  to  degrade  the  dignity  of 
the  human  species,  by  buying  and  selling  men  like  cattle,  this 
was  an  insult  to  the  human  family,  and  the  saints,  feeling  them- 
selves to  be  the  most  distinguished  members  of  the  same,  could 
not  but  regard  sudi  conduct  as  pcrsonalbj  oftensive.  That  wa.s 
the  capital  crime  of  slavery,  in  the  judgement  of  the  Puritan. 
For,  to  hold  men  as  property,  because  their  skins  were  black,  was 
to  imply  that,  if  they;  by  any  chance,  should  be  cauglit  and 
blackened,  they,  the  saints,  might  be  knocked  down  to  thehighest 
bidder;  and  this  was  an  idea-inconceivably  horrible. 

But,  while  they  hated,  with  an  undisguised  bitterness,  the  slave- 
holding  class  as  traffickers  in  human  flesh,  the  envy  of  their 
worldly  prosperity,  their  contented  spirits,  and  their  social  priv- 
ileges, soon  converted  this  feeling  of  antipathy  to  a  class  into 
one  of  personal  hostility  to  every  individual  member  of  it. 
Moreover,  tliose  qualities,  too,  of  courag(^,  chivalrous  foi-getfulness 
of  self  and  a  high  sense  of  honor,  which  the  Puritan  nn'ghttake 
advantage  of,  but  could  never  possess,  made  the  slaveholder  of 
the  South  still  more  hateful.  Like  Shylock,  who  hated  Antonio 
because  his  generous  consideration  for  the  unfortunate  brouirht 
down  "  the  rate  of  usance  in  Venice,"  the  Puritan  hated  the 
fioutliemer  because  Ids  chivalrous  traits  of  character,  by  con- 
trast, made  his  miserly  maxims  of  conduct  less  respectable  in  the 
eyes  of  the  nation  and,  hence,  his  success  less  ])rofitable. 

Such  is  the  process  of  the  formation  of  abolitionism  in  the  minds 
of  Puritans  generally,  l^ut  John  Tirown's  abolitionism  was  of  not 
so  malignant  a  character  in  its  origin.  It  had  a  less  sinful  origin 
and,  hence,  when  developed,  was  more  dangerous.  It  was  due 
more  to  the  forcp  of  his  metaphysical  conclusions  about  human 
rights,  than  fo  any  uncontrollable  propensity  4o  hate  something. 
Taking  for  his  premi.ses  <ho6o  '.' glittering  gAnoralitios"  about  tbo 


28  THE    TWO    REBELLION^; 

inalienable  liglits  of  nutn,  wlii.  h,  for  forty  vears,  havo  oxoited 
more  interest  and  Hllenti«>n  in  the  Nmtli  iltan  lli«  laws  of  Moses 
or  the  precejits  of  our  Saviour,  he  very  soon  satisfied  himself  of 
tlie  wrong  of  slavorv.  Me  was,  no  doubt,  assisted  and  iielped 
along  liis  way  l.y  tlio  much  jircaching  which  it  was  liis  Ijabii.  to 
hear.  No  doubt,  most  of  the  sermons  that  he  heard  related  nuu-h 
■more  to  the  glory  of  liberty  and  etjuality  and  tlie  dignity  of  the 
human  species  than  to  the  propiiety  of  humility  and  lowliness  in 
this  world.  It  is  reasonal'le  to  suppose  that  be  listened,  with  plea- 
fure  and  a  grateful  sense  of  belief,  to  the  flattering  dissertations 
about  the  great  things  of  which  hi?  unfetleied  and  unres. rained 
:)ature  was  capable.  Egotistical  and  ambitiou-<ashe  was.  he. drank 
in  the  pleasing  tributes  with  eageine>s,  and  never  tire<l  of  hearing 
those  cncoiniuuis  upon  the  capabilities  of  human  naturethat  north- 
ern jireac.hers  so  libeVally  indulge  in.  For,  strange  to  say,  while 
jieople  in.  the  South  go  to  church  to  liear  the  awful  reckoning  of 
the  extent  of  their  wic,kednes.s,  they,  in  the  North,  go  to  the  same 
place  in  order  to  increase  their  knowledge  i>f  their  own  excdlenee. 
So  that,  itis(]uite  evident  that  church-gojng  is  much  more  pleasant 
)u  one  Section  than  it  is  in  the  other;  and  it  shoul.l  not  be  a  mat- 
ter of  surprise  that  it  is  more  popular  al  the  North. 


c;  II  A  r  T  !•:  r   v  .  • 

1113    TOVTH    AND    KAHLY    KADICAI.ISM. 

As  John  Brown  grew  apace,  ^nd  his  mind  expay.ded  and  liv 
opinions  became  moie  fixed,  it  is  |)robable  that  he  was  an  origi 
nal  tliitiker  upon  more  subjects  than  one.  His  attention,  how 
ever,  must  liave  been  especially  given  to  the  nature  and  o,\teU 
of  human  rights. 

If  it  were  possible  to  enter  into  liis  most  secret  ihoughls,  w< 
would  find  hin'i,  in  all  probability,  applying  those  principl<is  hi 
had  learned  to  tlie  .«olulion  of  the  diincultie.s  which  first  iutrude< 
themsflveR  upon  his  attention.  • 

lie  must  certajnly  have  been  eng.iged  in  the  puzzling  task  of 
reconciling,  with  his  theory,  the  le^iliuuuy  of  tJje  despotic  au- 


OR,    TREASON    UKMASKED.  29 

.  (lioiity  <?X(^r>  i.-^^^-^  by  liis  fa  her  in  the  home  circle.  What  riglit 
his  father  had,  *o  appiopriate'the  profits  of  his  labor,  to  control 
his  tnoreinents,  infrins^e  upon  his  persojial  liberty,  and  oven  touch 
him  up  occasionally  with  a  birch,'or  a.  strap,  or  a  wagon  \>hip, 
Avhiv-hevcr  was  the  handiest,  must  have  been  a  hard  ques^tion 
foi-  John  to  iinswer  in  the  light  of  his  theory  of  human  equulity. 
Or  why,  his  mother,  no  doubt,  a  rational,  grown  up  woman  of 
souse  and  expiM-ience,  should  be  confined,  in  her  sphere  of  dufies, 
to  lliH  mysteries  of  Ifuusewifery,  deprived  of  a  voice  in  the  county 
elections,  and  b«  made  to  obey  her  husband,  a  cross-grained  old 
uian,  in  all  things,  was  another  metaphysical  lion  in  his  path. 

Perhaps,  too,  in  the  meanderings  of  his  discursive  faculty,  be 
dist'overed  an  umeasonable  oppression  in  the  law  that  forbid  him 
_at  twenty,  an"intellig<^nt  yoiuuij  man,  of  superior  endownient  and 
with  natural  capacity  Tar  aho-id  of  all  the  j>eople  of  his  own'age, 
from  cvertising  the  light  of  (boosing  his  own  political  representa- 
tives. Certainly,  ihe  validity  of  his  obj#tiori  to  the  law  was  cot 
diminished  in  his  eyes,  wh«n  he  saw  the  privilege  which  he  was 
denied  granted  to  his  father's  stupid  ploughman  and  the  ignorant 
Dutidi  tailor  that  lived  in  the  vicinity. 

Such  were  the  kind  and  (haraeter  of  the  difTiculties  that  must 
have  beset  the  youthful  John  in  his  metaphysical  pilgrimage  in 
search  of  truth.  And,  if  we  are  to  infer  anything  from  thu 
prompt  manner,  in  whicdi  he  ado]>ts  logical  conclusions,  without 
regard  to  the  practical  diffirulties  in  the  way,  discoverable  in  tho 
writings  and  speeches  of  his  after  life,  w^may  reasonably  con- 
clude tlial  he  was  i-onvinced,  while  yet  a  youth',  of  the  need  of 
great  changes  in  the  social  and  political  institutions  of  the  Amer- 
ican .world. 

'  In  the  first  period  of  manhood,  wlien  tlie  love  of  truth  is 
Btrong  and  reason  esial dishes  her  coui  lusions  in  our  speculaiivo 
world  with  the  undisputed  authority  of  a  soveieign,  the  youth- 
ful miml  is  not  iipt  to  permit  tiie  prompting  of  interest  or  passion 
to  affect  its  abstract  conclusions.  The  hopeful  heart  refuses  to 
C0'istru'*t  its  <lream  of  usefulness  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
world  aroimd  it,  hut  rather  acco'ding  to  the  apparently 
more  equitable  laws  of  a  world  of  its  own  (-reation.  It 
is  than,  if  ever,  if  our  system  of  -belief  has  been  adopted, 
that  its  logical  results  are  stared  full  in  the  face,  and  truth, 
stripped  of  all  extraneous  covering,  is  seen  in  its   native 'beauty. 

Now,  John  Urown  wa"»,  all  his  life,  troubled  with  amoral  fear- 
|p<s<nf><»«  about  a-'cepiinrr  iritional  or  rather  irrational  coiiclusinn». 
lie  did  not,  as  most  of  iho  ciuining  professors  of  his  faitji  do, 


3G  TIIK    TWO    REUELLIuNs; 

lioM  on  to  the  preniisos  of  his  system  aiul  only  adopt  those 
h-tgit-al  consequences  of  the  same  which  were  afjreeable  to  his 
interest  and  convenience.  So  that,  it  may  well  be  supposed, 
in  early  manhood,  when  tlie  will  and  faculties  alike  are  not  yet 
made  captive  hy  th»  de«ires  and  apetites,  he  was  a  believer  in 
all  of  the  absured  and  ridiculous  conclusions  that  follow  neces- 
psrily  from  the  radical  premises  he  had  ailopted.  That  was  the 
ditfcrence  between  him,  at  that  period,  au'l  his  philosophical  and 
relijrious  bietliren.  And,  when  afterwards,  his  attention  was  drawn 
to  slavery  and  circumstances  acting  upon  his  bad  passions  influ- 
enced a  poor  judixement  and  a  mind  given  up  by  habit  to  the 
conton)plation  of  unattainable  objects,  he  became,  more  than  any 
of  them,  a  practical  abolitionist. 

Tlie  truth  is  that,  until  that  periSrl  arrived,  he  was  exercised 
so  much  with  the  business  of  this  life  that,  during  his  more 
practical  period  of  manhood,  his  attention  was  more  directed  to 
the  qualities  of  stock  aud  the  state  of  the  markets  tiian  to  tho 
condition  of  the  oppressed  of  any  country. 

It  was  not  till  afterwards,  when  misfortune  and  disappointment 
liad  overtaken  him  and  its  repeated  blows  had  rendered  him 
desperate,  that,  like  the  murderer  in  Macbeth, 

"  Whom  the  vile  blows  and  bnfTets  of  the  worM 
Had  80  iooeDscil,  that  he  was  rcckloss  what  ho  did 
To  spite  the  norld," 

he  became  prepared  for  any  scheme  that  promised  wealth  or 
power,  and  moi-y  espeeially  if  there  were  not  wanting  argiiments 
whi^h,  in  the  light  of  his  sp6<',nlative  opinions,  either  drowned  or 
misinterpreted  the  whisperings  of  conscience. 

It  was  not  till  then  that  he  became  the  dupe  of  the  more 
wicked  abolitionists  and  began  a  career  of  crime  and  murder 
which  terminated  on  the  ir:ill"\vs  at  Charlostown. 


OR,   TREASON   UNMASKED.  81 


CHAPTER   VI. 

mS    MANHOOD ADVERSITY    AND    ITS    INFLUENOK     UPON    HIS    OriN- 

lONS. 

Soon  after  reaching;  years  of  maturity,  John  Brown  took 
unto  himself  a  wife  and  settled  down  into  the  interesting  rou- 
tine of  a  New  England  farmer's  life.  In  this  capacity,  he  em- 
ployed those  energies  of  mind  and  body  which  fate  had  not 
yet  revealed  to  him  were  intended  for  nobler  uses.  Occupied 
with  the  cares  of  a  family,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  various 
modes  of  accummulating  worldly  gain  that  are  known  only  to 
a  Puritan  Yankee.  • 

That  necessity,  which  has  befen  so  frequently  called  the 
mother  of  invention,  filled  his  mind,  no  doubt,  with  a  continual 
round  of  notions  about  turning  pennies.  His  active  brain, 
stimulated  by  a  desire  for  wealth,  and  an  egotism  which  might 
be  called  impracticable,  wrought  out  originail  plans  of  farming 
without  number.  Thus,  deviating  too  for  from  the  beaten  track 
of  his  forefathers,  he  ploughed  and  he  sowed  a  great  deal  more 
than  he  reaped  and  mowed.  There  was  an  enterprising  dash 
about  all  his  agricultural  arrangements,  which  was  not  in 
keeping  with  the  rules  of  Xew  England  thrift.  No  amount 
of  economy,  frugality,  or  industry,  could  wring  from  the 
cold-hearted  Ceres  of  the  North  that  prosperity  which  his 
soul  panted  for.  It  was  equally  impos.sible  to  propitiate  the 
divinities  that  watch  -over  the  wolfiire  of  flocks  and  herds. 
For,  in  addition  to  the  failure  of  his  crops,  his  stock  died  or 
were  stolen ;  or,  what  was  still  more  unfortunate  as  well  as  disrep- 
utable, were  swapped  out  of  him.  His  eflbrts  at  financeriug  were 
not  more  successful  than  attempts  at  plain  farming,  and  he 
found  himself,  after  years  of  indefatigable  activity,  more  and 
more  involved  in  a  lab3'rinth  of  mortgages,  bonds  and  promises 
to  pay.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  endeavored  to  reform  his  sys. 
tern  and  retrieve  his  fortune.  His  egotism  and  his  self-con- 
fidence made  him  despi.se  that  caution  in  business  which  every 
man  must  have  who  would  not  starve  in  New  England  ;  while 
his  love  of  achieving  new  things  and  his  uncontrollable  desire 
to  seem  a  man  of  original  powers  made  him  adopt  unusual 
methods  of  farming  that  were  uniformly  unsuccessful.  As  he 
lost  money  he  lost  credit,  and  he  was  finally  reduced  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  struggling  for  a  bare  subsistence. 


32  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

Tiled,  at  l<fnpth,  with  an  ungrateful  soil  that  denied  him  a  I 
liviniij,  and  a  corainunity  that  in  exchanp:o  lor  his  property  * 
had  left  hiui  nothini;  but  its  contenipt,  he  determined  to  seek 
liis  fiirtuiie  elsewhere.  So,  gathering  up  the  reiunants  of  his 
property  that  had  survived  the  wreck,  and  obtainini:  some  as- 
sistance from  his  relations,  he  eniij:rated  with  Ins  family,  about 
the  year  1»;{0,  to  the  State  of  Ohio. 

There,  finding  a  more  generous  climate  and  soil,  and  a  peo- 
ple les.s  grasping  and  oIu.-ju  in  their  husine.xs  transactions,  the 
idioyyncracies  of  his  character  did  ^lot  for  some  time  interfere 
with  hi.s  worldly  prosperit}'.  He  soon,  h}'  dint  of  energy  and 
ft  little  wisdom  derived  from  his  furmer  experience,  increased 
his  possessions.  Fortune  seemed  at  last  to  have  been  concili- 
ated, and  he  began  to  cherish  his  old  dreams  of  great  wealth. 
Wiien  once  he  had  given  up  himself  to  the  fatal  passion  ngain, 
he  murmured  at  the  homely  but  abundant  courfbrts  that  iHir- 
rouuded  him,  and, 

"  Lllte  a  miser,  wh>  ."till  pp.nts  for  more, 
Piued  amid  bid  eartUly  sturc." 

Dissatisfied  with  a  fate  that  confined  him  to  the  humlilo 
spheres  of  human  action,  and  with  the  slow  road  to  wealthand 
power  that  he  had  chosen.,  he  again  became  the  victim  nf  his 
vanity  and. his  overleaping  ambition.  This  time  the  blow  was 
more  fell  and  sweeping.  C<mfident  in  a  judgment  which,  his 
own  experience  bad  tanght,  could  be  rarely  relied  on,  he  ta.^tcd 
of  the  infatuating  waters  ol'  western  speculation.  The  small 
success  that  rewarded  his  first  efl'orts,  thrilled  him  with  in- 
expressible emotioTis  of  pleasure,  as  he  tliought  he  saw  near  at 
haml  the  enchanted  elysium  of  his  distemiiered  imagination, 
and  the  golden  _goal  of  his  hopes.  So.  with  inereased  confi- 
dence that  was  the  more  I'atal  as  it  was  blind,  he  risked  Ivis  all 
in  a  speculatiou  and  was  reduced  to  penury. 

The  blow  was  the  more  severe  as  it  was  unexpected  This 
time,  he  had  not  lost  his  ptoperty  piece  by  piece  and  descended 
Iroin  competence  to  poverty  by  slow  and  gentle  stages.  The 
fall  was  sudden  and  comjilete.  From  the  heights  of  prosperity, 
by  liis  own  mad  iolly,  he  h:id  been  precipitated,  as  it  were,  to 
the  lowest  depths  of  adversity.  From  the  abyss  of  his  despair, 
lie  could  not  bu^  turn  and  gaze  with  wistful  eyes  upon  the 
pleasant  fields  which  lie  had  left  to  climb  the  dizzy  heights 
beyond,  and  sigh,  lor  one  time  in  b;s  lil'e,  fir  a  restoration  of 
lho.se  comfuits  of  lif«  which  he  had  in  his  lolly  despised. 


I  OR,  -TREASON   UNMA8KBD.  o3 

Tlie  occaMi'on  was  one  that  demaniied  all  the  philosophy  of 
coiumon  s«nse  and  tlie  uiibentlini;  resolution  of  a  heart  armed 
with  honesty.  The  trial  was  terrU)le  for  a  nature  Ifte  his,  and 
its  severity  was  not  diminished  by  the  consciousness  that  it  was 
self-inllictcd.  Uniler  such  circumstances,  a  man,  however  erring 
in  judgment,  if  imbued  with  correct  principles  and  a  proper 
self-respect,  would  hav«j  emerged  from  the  ordeal  \vi>ier  and  more 
determined.  Uniiauuted  by]^ecuniary  misfortune  in  enterprising 
America,  he  would  have 'recalled  the  ))ast,  only  to  profit  by  it, 
and  entered  the  battle  of  life,  if  not  with  new  hope,  with  new 
resolution.  Such  would  liave  been  the  heroism  of  common 
sense  joined  to  ordinary  honesty;  a  heroism  that  the  world  never 
notices,  but  is  always  ready  to  apologize  for  the  want  of. 

Bui  John  Brown  was  not  of  that  cla-s  of  unfortunates  who, 
on  account  of  their  modesty  and  their  number,  are  unobserved. 
lie  ratli«r  belonged  to  a  class  of  the  opposite  quality  who,  not 
50  much  on  account  of  their  puicity  as  on  account  of  their  per- 
formances, at'Vact  the  notice  of  others,  Ihe  overweening  self- 
confidence  which,  failure  after  failure  could  not  shake,  the  morbid 
love  of  wealth  and  power,  which  no  reverses  could  diminish, 
began  to  work  their  legitimate  results  in  his  self-perverted, 
nature.  The  lessons  of  experience  which  he  had  learned  in  the 
bitter  school  of  adversity,  viewed  in  the  light  of  an  oft'ended 
vanity  and  a  disap})ointed  ambition,  were  disregarded  or  mis- 
construed. The  chastisements  he  had  received  were  considered 
as  ill  deserved,  and  he  began  to  (pjestion  an  arrangement  of 
things  that  denied  success  to  talents  like  his,  while  the  eftbrts  of 
his  inferiois  were  crowned  with  triumph.  Such  honesty,  such 
sagacity,  and  such  judgment  as  his,  why  could  they  all  not  force 
success?  Did  he  not  know  tliat  in  regard  to  smartness,  he  was 
behind  none,*  while  in  activity  a>id  energy,  h's  superiority  was 
admitted?  Where,  then,  was  the  success  whi<di  lie  deserved  ? 
lie  could  not  approve  of,  or  lather  he  was  determined  not  to 
appiove  of,  any  system  of  society,  that,  by  its  legitimate  work- 
ings, condemned  him  to  poverty.  He  could  not  see  why  others 
should  succeeil  and  lie  always  fail.  It  never  once  occurred  to 
him  that  his  ill  regulated  pa.ssions  were  tlio  cause;  he  preferred 
to  attribute  i^.  to  some  defect  in  the  arrangement  of  things. 

There  was  but  5ne  explanation  of  the  mystery  satisfactory  to 
hi.«  mind,  now  fiiltd  with  the  suggestion  of  an  offended  vanity 
and  a  disappointed  ambition;  and  that  was,  that  he  and  the 
other  poor  were  lionest  men,  while  all  the  rich  were  accom- 
plished scoundrels.     And,  was  he  to  tamely  fiuuender  all  lii.s 


84  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

Lopes  of  weahli  and  all  bis  dreams  of  infUicnce,  because  a  set] 
of  villains  liad  gotten  possession  of  the  purse-string's  of  society 
and  apprciiJiiated'the  wealth  of  the  country  to  their  own  aggran- 
dizement? Was  it  to  be  expeited  of  a  man,  >ho  felt  himself 
capable  of  great  achievements,  if  his  active  spirit  of  enterprise 
>vere  repressed,  to  lie  down  like  a  dog  and  queitly  resign  himself 
to  whatever  fate  the  unjirincipled  sharks  of  society  allotted? 
Did  not  a  man  ovje  it  to  the  dignity  of  his  sj)ecies,  and  to  the 
claims  of  a  nature  superior  to  that  of  base  shaipers,  to.  resist 
this  social  conspiracy  to  deprive  liim  of  his  natural  rights  and 
reduce  him  to  a  state  of  social  bondage  ? 

These  questions,  though  they  might  have  appeared  difficult  to 
other  people  in  a  similar  condition,  were  soon  answered  by  John 
Brown.     In   the  light   of   his    revived    radicalistic    philosophy, 
M  hich  the  expediency  of  a  busy  life  had  for  a  long  time  ignored, 
but  which  had,  with    intervals   of   quiescence,  continually    re- 
appeared  and    become  strengthened,  he   began  to  understand 
everything.     The   rich   were   oppressors   and  the  poor  were  op- 
pressed.    The  successful  were  villains  and  the  unsuccessful  were 
ill-treated  and    condemned  innocents.     The   dominions  of   the 
.  wicked  extended  wherever  there  were  dominions,  and  the  richer 
the  soil   and   the  moie  abundant  its  yiehl,  the  greater  was  the 
iniquity  of  the  owners.     The   world  was  possessed  by  the  vota- 
ries of  sin,  and  the  righteous  and  the  virtuous  and  the  humble 
and  the  honest  John  Browns  were  robbed  and  pillaged  and  per- 
secuted   without    mercy    or    remorse.      Possessed     with    these 
opinions,  it  was   not  with   much   hope  or  expectation,  that  the 
unhappy  and  disconsolate  John  Brown  surveyed  the  future.     It 
could  no  longer  have  much  interest  for  hint,  now  that  lie   was 
convin(;ed  that  all   his  efforts  would  be  unavailing  as  well  as  un- 
profitable.    So,  from   this  time,   for  a  considerable  period,  he 
seems  to  have  been  wandering  about,  decided  upon  nothing. and 
engaged  in   no  settled   vocation.     His  opinions  were  assuming 
more  and  more  a  practical  tendency,  and   he  began  to  approach 
a  new  and  important  period  in  his  career,    llis  continued  j)enury 
and  want,  his  increasing  distate  fur  all  civil  employment,  and  his 
constant  habit  of  attending  and  participating  in   the  abolition 
meetings  which  were  then  being  held  everv\\here  in  the  North, 
began  to  produce  their  legitimate  fruits  upon  a  mi  ntal  and  moral 
soil  in  which  they  had  crowded  out  all  plants  of  usefulness.     Uis 
radicalism  assumed  an  abolition  hue,  an<i  his  political  theories  took 
a  gloomy  fanatical  turn.    To  his  surpri^e,  ])erhaps,  lie  commenced, 
ac<iuiring  new  notions,  in  his  idle  meditations  upon  the  mysteries 


Uli,    'I'KBAauN     U-NMASKJti).  85 

of  his  destiny;  and,  when  all  l)ope  of  a  human  employer  had 
vanished,  the  startling  idea  Ilaslied  across  liis  meiital  horizon 
that  he  was  intended  for  the  service  of  the  Almighty.  Thus 
did  his  unextingiiishable  vanity  dissipate  any  lingering  traces  of 
remorse  for  his  folly  that  had  ruined  him,  and,  from  the  very 
desolateness  of  his  condition,  he  obtained  the  means  of  reviving 
his  self-reliance  and  his  latal  ambition.  Now,  when  penniless, 
bad  men  lose  the  confidence  of  the  public,  and  no  longer  have 
either  the  inclination  or  the  o})portunity  to  earn  their  daily 
bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows,  they  generally  take  to  sup- 
plying their  wants  out  of  the  stores  of  their  fellow  men.  The 
modes  of  doing  this  difter  according  to  the  capacity,  the  taste, 
the  idiosyncracies  of  the  thief  and  the  nature  of  "tlie  society 
and  government  to  which  they  for  the  time  being  belong. 

In  n)ost  countries  they  take  at  first  to  pilfering  or  robbing  on 
the  highway.  These  strike  the  ine.xperienced  rogue  as  the  best, 
because  they  are  the  quickest  and  the  simplest  ways  of  gratify- 
ing his  desires.  But,  as  this  kind  of  robbery  is  condemned  by 
the  laws  of  most  all  countries  and  disa])pioved  of  in  nearly  all 
social  circles,  the  unfortunate  ones  who  resort  to  it  are  apt  to  get 
a  good  share  of  infamy  as  well  as  rope.  So,  that  it  does  not 
coiiunend  itself  to  a  rogue  in  intent  who  desires  not  only  to 
avoid  the  int^ietion  of  legal  punishment  and  the  condemnation  of 
society  in  the  practice  of  his  fliievery,  but  even  to  do  it  so  skillfully 
as  to  excite  the  admiration  and  the  sympathy  of  the  world 
around  him. 

Perhap?,  the  unso])histicated  reader  would  wonder  what  in  the 
trld  he  would  follow  to  bring  about  these  two  apparently  op- 
]>osite  results.  A  slight  acquaintance  with  the  organization  of 
northern  society,  however,  would  soon  silence  his"s})eculations 
upon  that  point.  For,  in  the  complex  and  ever  varied  8tru(;ture 
ot  nortliern  free  society,  the  enterprising  mind  is  not  restricted 
to  the  generally  received  lespeclable  aveimes  to  fame  and  riches. 
It  may  abandon  the  usual  roads  of  industry,  and  exercise  its 
energies  in  one  of  the  numerous  novel  ways  to  wealtii  and  re- 
nown tiiat  are  found  only  in  the  late  United  Stiites.  These  ways 
all  differ,  but  still  are  species  of  the  same  genus, and  furnish  every 
possible  theatre  of  activity  Ibr  the  discontented  and  abandoned 
diaracters  that  swarm  upon  the  turbid  surface  of  northern  society. 
I  he  ordinary  crimes,  such  as  buiglary,  larceny  and  murder,  aie 
generally  confined  to  the  ignorant\ind  vicious  foreigners  and  ne- 
groes that  infest  the  nortliern  cities.  The;/  prin(aj.ally  fill  thechain- 
gangs,  jails,  and  penitentiaries  t>f  the  North.     The  native-bora 


36  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

villains,  however,  more  especially  those  fiom  Xew  England. 
\vlio  are  far  iDore  des^ervinjif  oi  such  piinishinent,  are  generally 
well  fed  and  dressed,  and  fre(jiientiy  the  lions  of  society.  Thev 
are  gentlemen  of  leisure  and  njeans,  voluble  and  insimiating 
knaves,  and  as  full  of  fine  sentiment  as  they  are  void  of  princi- 
ple. They  know  a  little  about  everything  and  everybodv,  and 
can  entertain  a  crowd  upon  the  jnysteries  of  electricity,  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  or  the  last  new  reaping-machine.  'Jhcy 
are  agents  and  secretaries  of  j)hilanthropic  societies,  lecturers  on 
spiritualism,  mesmerists,  «lectro-bi(ilogists,  popular  illustiators 
of  natural  science,  quack  doctors,  veiideis  of  wooden  mitwicgs 
and  toothace  medicine.  They  all  belong  to  a  class  which,  by 
general  consent,  is  calb'd  liundiugs.  Not  that  they  have  a  mo- 
nopoly of  the  art,  since  it  is  well  known  that  it  is  the  main  element 
of  success  in  any  business  in  the  North,  but  because  it  is  their 
vocation.  Now,  when  John  l.irown  concluded  that  he  was  in- 
capable of  winning  wealth  or  I'enown  in  the  ordinary  spheres  of 
activity,  he  cast  about  to  find  a  new  calling  which  would  be 
congenial  to  his  taste  and  at  the  same  time  gratify  his  ambition 
and  his  love  of  money.  His  radical  ojnnions  and  I'uritan  jjreju- 
dices  soon  determined  him  to  be  a  freedom-shrieker ;  more 
especially  as  this  class  were  now  beginning  to  put  money  in  their 
pockets.  And  he  took  a  pleasuie  in  justifNing  himself  in  his 
opinions  by  listening  to  every  lunatic  or  knave  that  grew  elo- 
quent over  the  imaginary  crimes  of  slaveliokling.  Each  day, 
that  Jrevealed  to  him  the  lucrativeness  as  well  as  popularity  of 
his  new  profession,  saw  liiiu  more  and  more  convinced  that  ho 
had  found  his  calling  at  last.  And  soon  lie  added,  to  a  settled 
determination,  an  enthusiasm  that  exciled  the  admiration  and 
confidence  oi  the  faithful.  This  unexpected  promising  siate  -of 
atl'aiis  encouraged  him  to  increase  his  own  enthusiasm,  and 
lience  his  profits  and  popularity.  To  do  this,  it  was  necessary 
to  fitirie  conscience  entirely;  and  he  hesitated  at  nothing  in  his 
proposed  plans  of  making  way  with  the  slaveholder.  This  ayms 
easily  done  by  coiii-eiving  himself  to  be  a  special  instrument  of 
I'rovidence,  who  was  lo  '  slay  smd  spare  not." 

His  vanity  and  his  despair,  not  to  speak  of  h's  .ambition,  as- 
sisted by  an  abolitionism  that  olHained  legitimacy  from  his 
radicalisir>  and  a  holiness  of  character  from  the  inherent  malig- 
nancy of  Puritanism,  soon  revealed  the  nature  of  his  mission  ; 
and,  it  he  had  any  lingering  doubt'«  about  the  propriety  of  such 
a  belief,  tliey  all  vanished,  when  (lerrit  Smith  proposed  to  him 
to  lake  charge  of  his  negro  coloiiy  at  North  Elba. 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  '  87 

CHAPTER    VII. 

GKRKllT    SMITH — THE    NORTU    EL1!A    SCHEME. 

Oerritt  Smith  belonged  to  the  least  disreputable  class  of 
abolitionists.  There  were  but  two  olasses.  the  lunatics  and  the 
knaves.  The  lunatics  lived  upon  the  emotions  of  philanthropy 
which  .the  sentimental  achievements  of  the  knaves  excited;  while 
the  latter  lived  upon  their  per  centage  of  the  money  which  the 
former  contributed  in  behalf  of  the  sutferino-  African.  It  was  a 
mutual  admiiation  society,  and  imbued  with  sinsrular  vitality. 
Now,  Gerritt  Smith  was'bne  of  tie  wealthiest,  and  hence  one  of 
the  most  prominent  membeis  of  the  class.  Endowed  by  nature 
with  a  warm  heart  but  a  weak  mind,  he  became  an  early  vic- 
tim to  the  abolition  mania  that  was  abroad  in  the  North.  The 
possessor  of  great  wealth,  he  was  too  rich  a  prize  to  let  slip  when 
once  he  had  been  secured;  so  that  it  was  difficult  to  disentagle. 
liim  from  "the  toils  of  the  abolition  knaves  that  surrounded  bin). 
Iluman  vampires  as  they  were,  they  heated  his  imagination  with 
their  well-dVawn  pictures  of  the  luisery  of  slaves  and  pocketed 
the  gold  which  his  benevolence  contributed.  Perpetually  per- 
secuted by  them,  and  from  "morn  till  dewy  eve"  exercised  with 
their  elo({uence  and  their  conversation,  he  became  a  blind  votary 
of  tiie  god,  and  surrendered  himself  wp-to  evei  y  mad  scheme  that 
could  be  suggested.  Among  these,  there  was  none  which  ex- 
cited more  interest  among  the  faithful,  than  the  North  Elba, 
Scheme,  This  was  a  Uto])ian  dream,  tested  in  the  crucible  of 
human  expeiience.  It  proposed  to  exhibit  to  the  world  the 
rapacity  of  the  African,  when  excluded  from  the  malign  intluence 
of  the  white  race,  to  be  happy  industrious,  virtuous  and  yirosperous. 
In  the  bosom  of  the  Adirondacs.  "Which,  with  their  bald  and  inhos- 
pitable peaks,  snnonnded  a  fertile  basin  of  land,  the  colony  was 
settled.  Here,  walled  in  from  the  visits  of  the  strolling  curious, 
or  the  adventurous  vender  of  Yankee  notions,  the  despised  race 
wefe  to  enjoy  that  Arcadian  repose  so  necessary  for  their  intel- 
lectual and  moral  development.  Nothing  was  wanting  but  some 
worthy  and  unselfish  a-postle  of  philanthi  opy  to  watch  over  their 
spiritual  and  carnal  interest  and  point  out  the  road  to  virtue  and 
happiness. 

For  this  sublime  duty  John  Brown  was  selected.  His  activity 
and  devotion  to  the  cause  had  already  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  insane  humanitarian,  and  he  determined  to  employ  him  hs 
4 


38  THE  Tvro  rebellions; 

the  tlieocratic  govenor  of  Lis  Utopian  republic.  Nothing  more 
Hgreeable  coulJ  have  been  j)roposed  to  the  penniless  eliaiiipion 
of  humanity.  It  furnished  a  field  tor  the  exercise  of  his  jdiilan- 
tliropy,  his  love  of  ^X)\ver,  notoriety,  and  money,  llere,  sliut  out 
from  the  hateful  woikl  of  white  men  that  had  conspired  to  rob 
him  of  rejuitation  and  pro]>erty,  he  could  conduct  a  government 
and  organize  a  society  according  to  his  own  ideas  of  perfection. 
Perhaps,  too,  it  would  be  the  nucleus  of  a  great  settlement  that,  in 
the  course  of  time,  would  congregate  tliere  and  astonish  America 
with  its  prof*perity,  its  strength,  and  its  virtue.  And,  of  this 
new  nation,  he  (glorious  thought!)  would  be  regarded  aa  the 
founder  and  idolized,  by  the  citizens  of  the  same,  as  the  father' 
of  their  country.  Even  if  these  dreams  were  not  realized, 
which  candor  compel  us  to  say  had  very  little  to  do  with  John's 
readiness  of  acceptance,  still,  there  was  the  land  and  the  labor, 
over  which  he  had  supreme  control,  and  the  road  to  wealth  and 
power  was  as  "])lain  as  a  jjike-stai!"."  With  such  hopes  and  ex- 
pectations, he  entered  upon  the  undertaking.  Now,  at  last,  his 
judgment  was  unlrammeled  and  his  means  ap])arently  without 
limit;  and  while  he  appeared  to  be  conducting  an  experiment  of 
philanthropy,  he  was  really  engaged,  most  of  (he  time,  in  trying 
many  pet  ones  of  ins  own.  So  that  the  result,  wliich  any  one  of 
sense  might  have  anticipated,  was  not  long  deferred,  lieing  his 
own  executive  ollicer,  secretary  of  the  interior,  and  treasurer,  and 
uniting  in  himself  the  legislative,  judical,  and  military  functions 
of  his  kingdom,  his  administration  was  soon  attended  with  more 
than  its  usual  disastrous  consequences.  His  proteges,  in  spite  of 
bis  moral  lectures  and  his  paternal  e.xposlulations,  could  neither 
appreciate  the  superiority  of  liis  judgment,  or  the  necessity  of  labor. 
They  were  lazy,  tilthy  and  thievish.  They  would  neither  work, 
learn,  or  pray ;  but  seemed  to  have  an  incurable  propensity  for 
eating,  sleeping,  and  lying.  Their  habits  of  tilth  and  idleness 
and  their  vicious  indulgences,  soon  engendered  diseases  which, 
combining  with  less  fatal  causes  of  depletion,  gradually  dimin- 
ished the  population  of  the  Utopia,  until  John  Brown  began  to 

"Feel  like  one  who  troada  alono  a  banquet  hall  deserted." 

It  18  as  difficult,  as  it  is  unimportant,  to  decide  whether  the 
failure  of  the  North  Elba  scheme  was  owing  to  the  unfitness  of 
the  negro  for  a  state  of  freedom  or  of  John  Brown  for  the  oHice 
of  their  civil  and  religious  governor.  Both,  however,  had  their 
full  share  in  hastening  the  result,  though  the  fact  that  John  was 
the  only  survivor  of  the  national  wreck,  and  the  only  gainer  by 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  39 

the  whole  business,  subjects  him  to  the  suspicion  that  in  this 
case  something  more  than  incompetence  might  be  charged. 
Whatever  conchisions  might  have  been  drawn  by  other  men 
from  an  experience  similar  to  John  Brown's,  it  only  served  to 
fortify  his  confidence  in  a  belief,  the  cherishing  of  which  had  the 
rare  charm  of  furnishing  him  the  means  of  a  livelihood.  He 
soon  became  eager  for  new  fields  of  activity ;  and  so,  living  on 
the  farm  which  his  abolition  sentiments  had  procured  liim,  he 
became  more  and  more  extravagant  in  his  advocacy  of  the  new 
faith.  As  his  enthusiasm  increased  and  his  will  and  faculties 
were  given  up  more  and  more  to  the  possession  of  a  terrible 
animosity  to  tlie  slaveholder,  he  became  more  fearlessly  destruc- 
tive in  his  abolition  plans  of  reform.  But  he  contemplated 
something  more  than  mere  intellectual  warfare.  While  other 
champions  found  it  a  sufhciently  remunerative  business  to  culti- 
vate the  fertile  fields  of  the  popular  credulity  and  reap  crops  of 
golden  opinions  with  their  keen-edged  scythes  of  rhetoric,  he 
knew  that  he  was  as  incapable  of  successfully  fajming  these 
as  the  barren  fields  of  New  England.  .  So  that,  while  these  sleek 
and  glossy  priests  were  content  with  working  on  the  productive 
)noral*  vineyards  of  northern  opinion,  John  Brown  advocated  a 
crusade  against  the  South.  Others  liad  filled  their  pockets  with 
money  by  simply  filling  buildings  with  eloquent  exordiums  and 
feeling  perorations,  or  pamphlets  and  iieMspapers  with  their  writ- 
ings; but  John  had  only  profited  by  ])utting  his  own  hand  to  the 
plough,  and  he  wanted  jyactical  woik  to  do. 

A  war  of  moral  forces  might  do  for  others ;  but  it  did  not 
suit  him.  He  had  neither  taste,  talent,  nor  time  for  it.  A  large 
family,  as  imprudent  and  thriftless  as  himself,  was  on  his  hands, 
and  he  wanted  work  to  do  that  was  profitable.  And,  so  far  aa 
ambition  had  anything  to  do  with  his  motives,  these  others 
might  be  the  Aarous  of  the  liberated  race  j  for  his  part,  he 
wanted  to  be  the  Moses  or  the  Joshua.  At  this  time,  however, 
there  was  not  yet  a  season  for  the  full  display  of  his  plans.  In 
the  meantime,  he  was  occupied  in  the  most  profitable  and 
agreeable  jobs  of  real  work  that  the  brotherhood  had  to  let 
out  at  that  lime.  No  doubt,  he  exercised  his  philanthropy,  for 
a  time,  by  running  as  one  of  the  metaphorical  conductors  on 
the  uudergrounfl  railroad*  *l'his,  however,  is  not  well  ascer- 
tained ;  though,  from  the  familiar  business  transactions  which 
he  was  continually  having  with  the  principal  aboiition  chiefs, 
he  certainly  was  in  their  employ  in  some  capacity.  He  cer- 
tainly  displayed,  during  the   Kansas  wars,  a  .skill  in  stealing 


40  THE    TWO    REBKLLI0N8; 

negroes,  that  argued  a  wonderful  natural  ability  ^for  the  busi- 
ness or  else  a  long  and  prtjtitable  previous  experience.  But,  it 
was  nottiil  the  breaking  out  of  that  war  that  his  career  can 
be  definitely  traced,  though  there  can  be  no  doubt,  from  his 
conduct  during  that  struggle,  that  he  had  prepar/sd  himself,  in 
more  ways  than  one,  for  the  career  of  lawlessness  that  he  there 
entered  upon. 


CHAPTER    YIII. 

THE    KANSAS    WAR — ITS    CHARACTER     AND    THE    DESIGNS    OF     ITS 
Al'TIIOKS. 

The  history  of  the  Kansas  war  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the 
country.  It  was  the  nielanchcily  forerunner  of  the  terrible  sec- 
tional conflict  that  lor  the  last  three  years  has  been  desolating 
America.  The  fires  of  civil  strife  between  the  two  sections, 
which  had  been  so  long  smouldering,  I'ound  first  in  the  rich 
valleys  and  fruitful  plains  ol'  Kansas  a  partial  outlet  for  their 
volcanic  fury.  Upon  her  champaign  fields  and  blooming  prai- 
ries was  the  burning  lava  first  discharged  ;  and,  from  the  deso- 
late hearthstones  and  blackened  ruins  which  then  were  seen, 
some  conception  might  have  been  formed  of  the  horrors  reserved, 
when  the  whole  laud  was  to  feel  the  effect  of  its  wrath. 

The  struggle  for  power  between  tiie  opposing  political  parties 
of  the  country  had  well  nigh  culminated,  when  a  territorial 
goveruuieut  was  established  for  Kansas,  and  each  party  was 
thfn,,in  its  unscrupulous  struggle  t'-r  the  spoils,  beginning  to 
reinforce  their  strength  by  pandering  to  the  prejudices  of  the 
sections  in  which  they  respectively  predominated,  'i'lie  admin- 
istration did  not  hesitate  to  take  advantage  of  the  sectional 
animosity  which  the  agitation  of  slavery  had  excited  at  the 
South,  while  the  opposition,  composed  now  almost  entirely  of 
the  Republican  party,  numbered  i#Uieir  ranks^iost  of  the  anti- 
slavery  elements  in  the  North.  'Jhe  numerical  power  of  the 
North  at  th^ polls,  and  the  now  almost  general  feeling  of  hos- 
tility to  slavery  among  the  masses,  encouraged  the  ambitious 
office-seekers  of  the  opposition  to  organize  a  sectional  party. 


OR,    TREASON     UNMASKED.  41 

t 

This  they  unhesitatingly  proceeded  to  do,  using  all  the  caution 
and  judgment  which  sy,ccess  required.  At  first  their  platforms 
were  equivocal,  and  they  had  the  audacity  to  expect  political 
assistance  from  the'  8outh.  When  there  was  no  longer  any 
reason  for  concealment,  their  hostility  to  slavery  was  avowed, 
and  they  declared  their  intention  of  inaugurating  an  irrepressi- 
ble conflict.  Before,  however,  this  Ijist  step,  which  resulted  in 
the  famous  Chicago  platform,  of  ISHll,  could  be  taken,  prepar- 
nt(iry  measures  had  to  be  adopted.  It  was  necessary  that  blood 
sliDuld  be  shed  and  the  two  sections  inflamed  with  mutual  re- 
sentment, before  that  degree  of  white  heat  could  be  attained 
which  was  to  weld  the  different  elements  of  opposition  at  tho 
North  iti  one  solid  mass.  The  struggle  in  Kansas  between  the 
northern  and  southernpolitical  ideas  furnished  a  fine  opportu- 
nity for  doing  this.  The  odium  of  the  act,  should  a  possible 
reaction  take  place;  in  the  public  mind,  prevented  them,  per- 
haps from  assuming  the  responsibility;  but  they  found  able 
coadjutors  and  willing  tools*  in  the  professional  ministers  of  ab- 
olitionism. They,  who  had  for  years  been  plotting  the  down- 
fall of  every  autliority  and  institution  that  recognized  slavery, 
made  very  little  ado  about  kindling. civil  war  in  Kansas.  If 
the  cauldron  did  not  boil,  their  infernal  iuc!iutatious  would  lose 
their  charm.  It  was  not  "eye  of  newt  and  toe  of  frog" 
that  satisfied  the  mysterious  demands  of  their  devilish  art. 
Human  blood,  shed  in  the;  rage  of  fratricidal  war,  was  the  pro- 
pitiatory sacrifice.  And  so,  aidedl3y  the  generous  contributions 
of  the  Republican  leader^  and  sustained  by  their  political  coun- 
tenance and  support,"  the  powers  of  abolition  lent  all  their  en- 
ergy to  the  bloody  work.  While  efforts  were  made  everywhere 
in  the  North,  as  also  in  the  .South,  by  individuals,  and  some- 
times by  comamnities,  to  stimulate  emigration  to  the  new  ter- 
ritory, in  order  to  secure  it  as  an  ally  of  either  section,  the  ab- 
olitionists deliberately  set  to  work  to  organize  troops  and  ship 
them  to  the  territory.  This  went  on  increasing,  .being  boldly 
proclaimed  and  endorsed  by  a  respectable  portion  of  'the  press, 
unfil  it  culminated  in  a  Kansas  Relief  Association,  whose  duty 
was  to  furnish  the  men  and  luimey  for  the  conduct  of  the  con- 
test in  Kansas.  This  association  armed  and  equipped,  with  all 
the  materiel  of  war,  an  army,  foroiidable  at  that  time,  and  tram- 
ported  it:  to  Kansas. 

This  army  had  a  regular  organization,  with  quartermasters 
and  commissaries,  and  a  oomminding  officer,  subject  to  the  in- 
Htructious  of  -a  honje  council  of  priests,  and  politiciaos.     Their 


42  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

invasion  of  Kansas,  and  their  unlawful  and  unwarranted  inter- 
ference with  the  civil  authorities  of  the  territory,  provoked  a 
corresponding  moveuieut  on  the  part  of  the  Missourians  ou  the 
western  frontier  of  their  State,  and  thus  began  the  sectional 
conflict. 

The  attention  of  the  Federal  Government  being  called  to  the 
condition  of  Kansas,  an  effort  was  made,  by  the  exertion  of  its 
military  power,  to  ijuict  f\\e  civil  disturbances.  This  was  par- 
tially successful — ail  organized  bantls  of  any  strength  being  dis- 
persed or  driven  ofl".  ]iut  the  contest  proved  to  be  irrepressi- 
ble, indeed,  and,  notwithstanding  the  presence  of  the  Federal 
forces,  a  guerrilla  contest  was  carried  on  between  the  two  con- 
tending parties,  which  every  day  increased  in  barbarity  and 
cruelty.  In  vain,  were  the  efforts  of  the  Federal  (lovernnient 
to  restore  order  in_  Kansas,  when  the  a\ithors  and  instigators 
of  the  conflict  shared  in  the  councils  of  the  nation.  Kvery 
skirmish  was  a  political  event,  every  defeat  a  political  misfor- 
tune, for  one  party  or  the  other.  "-The  abolitionists,  and  the 
more  designing  and  unscrupulous  of  the  Republicans,  were  the 
only  clear  gainers.  Agitation  and  mutual  resentment  was  what 
they  desired,  and  they  pushed  ou  the  conflict  with  all  the  en- 
ergy of  their  diabo4ical  natures.  The  fires  of  dissolution  were 
kindled,  and  they  knew  it;  and  it  was  with  fiendish  delight 
they  hailed  the  beginning  of  a  general  conflagration.  As  the 
contest  for  political  supremacy  in  Kansas  proceeded,  and  vic- 
tory trembled  -in  the  balance,  the  pride  of  either  section  was 
excited  and  the  feelings  of  the  most  moderate  became  enlisted. 
Each  section  was  disposed  to  apologise  for  and  palliate  the  vio- 
lence of  their  respective  champions,  while  there  was  too  much 
eagerness  to  magnify  the  atrocities  of  their  adversaries.  Thus 
was  increased  that  general  feeling  of  sectional  bitterness  and 
liostility  which  the  abolitionists  took  good  care  never  to  let  die 
out.  For  fh(i/  were  thfi  most  untiring  and  the  most  active.  As 
to  the  political  result,  they  were  perfectly  indifferent,  so  that 
the  general  object  of  their  wishes  was  approached.  They 
wanted  not  so  much  territorial  supremacy  for  the  free-state 
opinions  as  they  wanted  agitation.  The  llcpublicans  wanted 
both;  and  so  they  besieged  the  northern  mind  with  the  most 
extravagant  and  exaggerated  stories  of  southern  barbarities. 
Thus  was  popular  credulity  abused  and  the  northern  heart  in- 
flamed, and  the  public  mind  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the 
Republican  doctrines  of  the  1S()U  platform.  Indeed,  so 
desperate  were  the  means  they  sometimes   rcsojtcd  to,  that 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  43 

# 

while,  in  one  breath,  they  announced  the  inferiority  of  the  south- 
ern race  of  white  men,  in  the  next,  they  iullamed  the  worst  pas- 
sions of  the  masses  by  artful  allusions  to  northern  cowardice 
and  southern  chivalry. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

JOHN    BROWN    IN    KANSA'S. 


Among  all  the  men  whom  they  employed  to  harass  and  hunt 
down  the  pro-slavery  settlers  in  Kansas,  John  Brown  was  the  most 
merciless  and  cold-blooded.  This  is  the  verdict  of  his  enemies 
and  of  most  of  his  friends  and  admirers.  Many  of  the  Kansas  free- 
state  emigrants  came  to  the  territory  for  the  purpose  of  settling 
or  staying  there  long  enough  to  assist  by  their  votes  in 
making  it  a  free  istate.  But  many  others  came  there,  as  mere 
hired  mercenaries,  to  plunder  and  kill  the  pro-slavery  men  at 
will.  Of  the  latter,  John  Brown  was,  from  the  first,  the  most 
conspicuous  for  the  delight  he  took  in  planning  and  executing 
his  expeditions  of  murdert* 

Most  nien  came  to  Kansas  with  arms  in  their  hanlls;  but  John 
Brown,  at  his  coming,  exhited  a  style  of  warlike  display  that 
could  not  but  attract  general  notice,  while  it  was  received  as  a 
sort  of  declaration  of  his  intentions. 

llis  wagon  was  partially  filled  with  ordnance  of  various 
descriptions,  while  tlie  rifle-musket  with  the  gleaming  sword- 
bayonet  and  the  naked  sabre,  stood  defiantly  erected  upon  the 
sides  of  his  vehicle. 

Never  did  a  bacchanalian  devotee  rush  into  the  mad  revels 
of  the  wine-god  with  more  enthusiasm  than  John  Brown  did  to 
the  scenes  of  assassination  and  murder  which  Kansas  then  pre- 
sented. Wild  with  delight  at  the  prospect  of  a  fit  theatre  of 
1  action  for  his  bad  and  ambitious  nature,  before  he  had  tasted  of 
[the  oblivious  sweets  of  slaughter,  he  astonished  the  most  hard- 
ened villains  of  the  precious  brotherhood  with  his  cruel  plans 
|of  extermination.  He  was  soon  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of 
his  order.  An  opportunity  was  not  long  wanting  to  one  who 
.watched  it,s  coining  so  eagerly.  And  ii  was  but  a  short  time, 
jafter  having  taken  the  plunge,  before  he  surpassed  all  competitors 


41  THE    TWO   REBELLIOXS  : 

in  Jlie  savageness  of  his  aiiiinosity  and  the  fiendishness  of  hi 
deeds.  His  untiiin^;  eiiei'tr>  a"d  staunch  devotion  to  the  cause  un 
abolition  soon  made  him  a  leader  for  others  who  were  e<^ualljf 
unsciupiidous,  hut  less  active  and  ardent.  Adveilturoiis  if  not 
lirave,  and  without  any  of  tliose  ])assinfj  qualms  of  conscience, 
that  sometimes  haunt  the  most  blood-stained  souls,  he  hesitated 
at  the  |>er|»etratiori  of  no  outraire,  and  shrank  from  no  enterpiise, 
because  success  waslo  be  obtained  by  the  use  of  the  most  atro- 
cious means.  Like  a  devourini;  wild  beast  he  was  to  the  families 
of  all  who  did  not  put  faith  in  his  creed;  and  was  as  little  turned 
from  the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes  by  the  pra_\*ers  of  the 
mother  as  by  the  srieks  of  the  children.  l<usy,  ever  busy,  with 
trackiuif  and  pursuin<r  the  pro-slavery  man,  ho  hunted  him  duwo 
with  the  periiuHc;ity  of  a  hound,  and  destioyetl  him,  when  found, 
with  the  ferocity  of  a  ti^er. 

8uch  zeal  and  slavish  devotion  of  time  and  energy  to  the 
cause  of  abolition  could  not  fail  to  attract  the  adiiiiration  and 
confidence  of  its  most  intUiential  priests  throughout  the  North. 
Their  phikutliropic  natures,  though  yet  unfamiliar  with  scenes 
of  blood,  were  no  less  gratified  by  "the  heroic,  exploits  of  the 
stern  old  man."  They  could  not  but  admire  the  courage  wh'ch 
did  not  hesitate  to  do  whak  the  heart  conceived  ;  and  though 
tliey  could  not  re«Qnc.ile  his  deeds  of  more  than  savage  cruelty 
with  their  refined  ideas  of  human  ol^gation.  they  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  ajtprovo  of  them,  in  consideration  of  the  character  and 
merits  of  the  class  u])on  which  they  were  indicted,  llencc, 
John  Brown  rose  rapidly  in  their  estimation.  His  influence  iu 
their  councils  increased,  and  he  finally  came  to  be  their  most; 
trustworthy  and  contiilenfial  partisan  chief  in  the  Kansas  war.! 
Jlis  po];ul;irity  was  by  no  means  confined  to  them.  The  professional  J 
pirates  of  the  free-state  party  thought  a  great  deal  of  him. 
His  Mulitary  popularity  among  them^however,  was  due  more  t.) 
their  estiiuate  of  his  abilities  as  a  brigand  chief  than  as  an  abo- 
lition fanilic. 

In  the  army  of  the  free  state  men  that  the  Kansas  Relief  Asso- 
ciation had  transported  to  the  territory,  there  were  few  who 
mingled,  with  their  motives  ol  hostility  to  the  slaveholder,  much 
of  that  abstract  devotion  to  the  idea  of  freedom  that  the  lead- 
ing fanatics  iu  the  States  professed.  They  were,  for  the  most 
>>art,  desperate  bad  men,  whom  necessity  liad  driven  to  become 
the  miserable  tools -of  the  timid,  but  luore  guilty  abolition  advo- 
cates of  the  east.  Induced  by  the  promise  of  pay  and  the  hope 
of  plunder,  they  had  couseiUed  to   engage  in  their   bloody  busi- 


I 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  45 

less,  move  for  tlie  piirjiose  of  rotreiving  tlieir  forttinos  tlian  with 
lie  (iesiii"!!  of  clisseininaliiig  jiliolitioii  doctiiiie.  Tliis  was  con- 
Ined  to  tliose  redoubtable  [tailor  kniglits  who,  upon  imaginary 
ieids  of  action,  fiequently  slay  whole  hei-atonibs  of  victims,  but 
I'ho,  at  the  same  time,  ai^  univeisally  known  to  be  constitutional 
owards.  It  was  the  same  then  as  now,  wi'.h  their  inflammatory 
larrangues  and  tempting  inducements  held  out,  they  lilletl  tlieir 
irmy  wi'h  the  poor  dupes,  of  their  mercenary  rhetoric.  Tlie 
nly  difference  between  that  period  and  the  one  which  coni- 
nenced  with  Lincoln's  accession  to  power,  is,  that  then  their  in- 
luence  wa^  confined  to  a  despicable  and  com]>aratively  small 
lass,  while,  now,  it  extends  over  communities,  cities  and  States. 

Now,  thete  Kansas  free-state  soldiers,  '*  the  cankers  of  a  long 
►eace  and  a  calm  world,"  discharged  journeymen,  and  broken 
[own  tradesmen,  unprincipled  .adventurers,  ])rofessional  roughs, 
ud  outcasts  from  society  generally,  found  in  their  sainted  John, 
captain  after  their  own  heart,  and  a  perfect  prince  of  cut-throats. 
!'here  was  an  apparent  earnestness  and  consciousness  of  doing 
ight  about  his  acts  of  violence  that  gave  stealing  and  murdering 
n  air  of  legitimacv.     To  a  love  of  blood  and  plunder,  he  joined 

devilish  cunning  and  an  iron  nerve,  that  made  him  as  a 
larauder  unusually  successful.  And,  then,  his  hypocritical  cant 
'erved,  so  well,  to  extinguish  remorse  ami  all  disagreable  reflections 
ipon  theij^  crimes.  His  metaphysics  were  as  efficient  as  his 
word  in  promoting  success.  For  every  appeal  of  injured  right 
le  had  a  settling  argument,  and  every  ])raver  for  mercv  he 
[rownedin  a  blasphemous  denunciation  of  the  unpardonable 
;rime  of  slavery.  So,  .John  Brown  became  a  great  man  in  Kan- 
as,  even  among  the  free-state  men.  and  may  be  said  to  have  ex- 
srted  more  influt^nce  in  making  a  free  State  of  fiiat  territory  than 
)erhaps  any  other  of  the  partisan  leaders.  When  tiie  contest 
'or  supremacy  was  decided,  and  many  of  the  free-state  soldiers 
weve  i'ewar«ie<l  with  the  farms  of  the  slain  or  banished  pro-slavery 
nen,  most  of  the  conquerois  laid  dovvn*the  sword  and  resigned 
hemselves  to- tlie  enjoyment  of  those  homes  which  thev  had 
tnrchased  with  the  blood  of  their  former  owners.  John  Brown, 
lowever.  Iiad  irit-d  farmitiLr  more  than  once  too  often.  .  He  had 
bunil  a  business  which  he  lik^d  better  and  be  detd-mlned  to 
•onfinue  his  efforts  in  that  vinevard  of  his  masters  from  which 
he  could  obtain  both  fame  and  money.  He  was  not  long  unem- 
)loyed  For,  thou«rli  the  contest  for  snj)re?nacy"  in  Kansas  had 
)ccn  (iccid<'d  and  victory  i)crclicd  upon  ilie  banneis  of  tlie  North, 
he  iusaliabie  juggernaut  of  abolition  needed  more  vicliius.     And 


48  Tni  TWO  rebellions; 

po,  enronrftijed  and  employed  by  tlie  same  apenU  who  conduct! 
lli«  Kansas  war,  John  Hrown,  with  his  band  of  mt-throats  sonu 
what  diminished,  (•oininence<l  a  similar  career  of  crime  on   th< 
frontiers  of  Missouri  that  he  had  consurumated  with  so   inucl 
glorv  in  Kansas. 

Here,  they  continued  their  warfare  upon  slaveholders,  carryinj 
off  horses,  mules  and  .slaves,  until  the  established  State  authorw 
ties  of  Kansa.s  and  Missouri  set  their  joint  faces  acrainst  the  vil^ 
lain.  'J  he  (Jovernor  of  Missouri  ]>ro(,laimed  liim  an  outlaw,  anc' 
offered  a  thousand  dollai-s  for  his  head.  iMany  of  his  accom- 
plices were  also  embraced  in  the  proclamation  of  outlawry. 
'J  he  return  of  somethini;  like  |>eace,  followed  bv  this  proscription 
of  old  Ihown  and  some  of  his  associates,  made  liis  formei  con- 
fe<lerates  amonir  the  free-state  men,  rather  cool  in  their  treat- 
ment of  him.  Many,  now  that  ihe  stimulalini^  period  of  con- 
flict was  over,  sickened  at  the  recollection  of  the  villain's  atroci- 
ties which  once  had  created  their  applause  and  "  began  to  heave 
the  gorpe,"  and  deny  his  claims  to  either  svnipafhv  or  aihuira- 
tion.  Even  some  of  his  old  bosom  comrades,  who,  having  ob- 
tained comfortable  farms,  were  now  desirous  of  becoming  useful 
and  respectable  members  of  society,  gave  him  the  cold  should»r. 
Not  so  much  because  thev  did  not  relish  the  society  of  a  wretch 
wiio  was  steejied  in  every  crime,  as  because  they  had  no  idea  of 
being  annoyed  with  a  disreputable,  penniless  old  o(4jlaw.  For 
though  his  career  of  robbery  and  murder  had  been  more  bold 
and  public  and,  perhaps,  more  outrageous  than  their  own,  the 
guilt  was  about  equally  balanced.  Some  conception,  however, 
may  be  formed  of  the  nature  of  the  eccentric  barbarities  of  the 
abolition  champion,  when  men  whose  hands  were  yet  red  with 
the  blood  of  the  innocent,  sliuddered,  it  is  said,  at  the  sight  of 
him,  and  studiously  avoided  his  society. 

Of  all  the  atrocities  ovliich  popular  belief  assigned  to  him,  the 
murder  of  I>ovle  was  the  most  horrible.     The  story  of  that  deed 
of  cruelty,  like  an  evil  sj)irit,  haunted  Hrown  wherever  he  went; 
and  the  images  of  horror  which  its   relation  called  uj),  froze  thd  j 
blood  of  the  most  hardened  villains. 

According  to  the  statements  of  the  cotemporury  newspapers, 
which  were  .subse(jucntly  corroborated  by  testimony  under  oath, 
before  an  investigating  coinmittoe  of  the  then  Federal  Con- 
gress appointed  to  cn»iuire  into  the  facts  of  the  committal  of 
acts  of  violence  in  Kansas,  the  substantial  account  of  that 
outrage  is  as  Ibllows: 

John  Browu,  intlauiod  with  resentment   for  some  trifling  ill- 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKKD.  47 

treatment  that  one  of  bis  confederates  had  received  at  the 
hands  of  the  pro-slavery  men,  determined  to  wreak  his  ven- 
geance upon  some  one.  Unable  to  reach  the  perpetrators  of  the 
injury  or  any  of  their  friends  or  sympathizers,  without  run- 
ning too  much  personal  risk,  he  determined  to  gratii'y  his  now 
uncontrollable  thirst  for  blood  upon  a  man,  whom  every  one 
knew  was  a  neutral  and  perfectly  inoffensive.  John,  i^oyle, 
who  lived  in  a  sort  of  neutral  district,  and  who  had  never 
been  known  to  participate  in  any  way  in  the  intestine  struggle, 
was  subject,  however,  to  the  damning  suspicion  of  disbelieving 
in  John  Brown's  divine  right  to  exterminate  the  slaveholders. 
This  was  his  crime,  and  now  that  the  blood-thirsty  monster 
was  raging  with  disappointed  malice  and  suffering  for  the 
want  of  a  victim,  this  was  enough.  So,  proceeding  with  the 
atealthiness  of  a  panther  upon  the  unsuspecting  object  of  his 
wrath,  and  under  cover  of  a  darkness  which  a  moonless  mid- 
night afforded,  with  a  small  party  he  surrounded  Doyle's  house 
and  then  entered  it  with  violence.  Doyle,  disturbed  from 
slumber  by  the  noise  of  the  entrance,  demanded  the  meaning 
of  the  nocturnal  visitation.  The  only  reply  was  a  demand  for 
himself  and  family  to  surrender,  followed  by  a  rush  of  the 
villains  who  secured  them  all.  It  was  in  vain  that  Doyle 
cried  out  that  he  had  never  done  anything,  or  said.anything  or 
thought  anything  of  an  unfriendly  character  towards  Brown. 
In  vain  did  his  wife,  on  bended  knees,  with  entreaties  to  which 
the  anguish  of  despair  and  floods  of  tears  lent  eloquence,  beg 
the  .poor  boon  of  her  husbands  life.  In  vain  did  his  little 
children  and  lisping  infant,  join  their  prayers  with  their 
mother  and  scream  with  grief  at  the  feet  of  the  iron-hearted 
pirate.  A  gloating  look  of  triumph  upon  his  grim  counte- 
nance was  the  only  answer  to  their  petition,  and  the  father 
was  dragged  from  the  embraces  of  his  family  to  undergo  the 
doom  of  death  which  Brown  had  already  intended  to  inflict. 
Tearing  him  from  his  wife  and  children,  who  clung  with  the 
tenacity  of  despair,  he  dragged  his  shrieking  victim  out  into 
the  woods,  and,  within  tht  hearing  of  his  Ijcart-brokeu  wife, 
riddled  him  with  bullets.  Then,  as  if  impelled  by  a  spirit  of 
slaughter  which  was  as  insatiable  as  it  was  pitiless,  lie  again 
entered  the  house  and  seizing  the  two  eldest  boys,  beibre  their 
mother's  eyes,  carried  them  off  and  slew  llicni  as  he  had  done 
thcrr  father.  Left,  at  last,  with  a  small  remnant  of  her  beloved 
family  to  mourn  in  drear  helplessness  the  desolation  of  her 
heart  and  home,  Maria  Doyle  searched  for  and  found  the  reek- 


48  THE   TWO   REBELLIONS  ; 

ino;  corpses  of  her  husband  and  children.  Thereby  their  side, 
oil  the  red  frrouud  and  bcweath  the-Btarlit  heaven,  she  ptiurcd 
forth  a  prayer  for  lueroy  and  vengeance,  that  only  the  unutter- 
able anjiuish  of  a  brnkcn  heart  can  inspire.  Two  years  after- 
wards, when  John  Hnnvn  was  closely  immured  in  a  felon's  cell 
at  (Miarlestown,  N'irL'inia,  awaitinj^  the  execution  «if  the  doom 
wUich  iiis  crimes  had  nioro  than  once  des(frved,  Maria  Uuylo 
wrote  him  a  letter,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy: 

"  Chattanoooa,  November  20,  1869. 
" John   Bnows : 

"  Sill:  Altbiu^h  vengeanro  is  hot  raioe,  I  confesi!  th  it  I  do  fuel  gritiflpd 
to  hour  that  jou  were  sioppnl  in  ^''>ur  fu-iiiiiiili  chumo  at  llir|"er's  Fcrrv.with 
the  loss  ol'  y'lur  two  snns.  Ymi  i-an  now  n  ipreci.ite  my  di.'trcsa  in  Kainas, 
wlieii  you  then  and  there  entered  my  house  at  luiiliiight,  nrro-tcd  my  hun 
)>uii<t  aud  tw.o  boyi<  un  I  look  tiieui  out  in  ihu  yard,  uod  i'<  I'oM  lilood,  ^ll<•l  thciu 
dead  iu  my  ticarin;<.  You  cauuoi  say  y  u  dooo  it  to  Irce  mir  slave.-,  we  lia  I 
none  and  never  e.xpccied  toowaouc;  hut  it  has  only  made  mo  a  diaeuiisolatt' 
widow  Willi  helple.-s  children.  Whilo  1  feel  for  \ our  fol  y,  I  do  hope  and 
trust  Nou  tvill  meet  y  ur  ju.-<i  rewar<I.  Oh,  how  it  pained  mjr  hear,  to  hear 
the  dyinjj  groans  of  my  poor  husband  and  buys. 

"  Maii;a    DoYt.K." 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  demoniac  deed  of  cruelty,  the  nara- 
tion  of  which  tliniuo;h  Kaii.sas,  made  even  the  profeissional  cut- 
throats of  •abolitiTjii  shudder  at  the  sight  of  Brown.  Hi.- 
slaughter  of  ati  inoffensive  luan  and  his  two  boys,  gave  him  a 
pre-eminence  in  crime  that  appalled  the  imaginations  of  the 
most  blood-stained. 

Yet  this  is  the  man  who  has  since  become  a  god  and  is  al- 
most adored  by  a  party  who  hold  in  their  hands  the  destiny  of 
the  northern  States.  'J"hc  tongue  of  the  orator  and  the  pen  of 
the  poet  preserve  and  magnify  his  hcroic^  achicvuients  in  the 
cause  of  iVeedtim.  He  is  held  up  as  a  model  for  tjie  religioui 
as  well  as  the  patriotic,  and  the  countless  hosts  of  the  North 
march  into  battle  invoking  in  song  the  guardianship  of  his 
sanctified  spirit. 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  4'J 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    VOLCANIC    PLAN — IT3    FK0GRE8B. 

"While,  liowevor,  many  of  the  more  fastidious  villains  diJ  not' 
conceal  their  aversion  to  Urown,  and  refused  to  assoriate  with 
him,  there  wt-re  plenty  It-fr,  whunr  the  hoi)e  of  plunder  touM 
easily  Mind  to  his  liorriMe  traits.  They  wanted  profitable  work 
to  do,  and,  as  they  liad  long  since  sold  themselves  to  Satan,  they- 
were  nut  sjoinir  to  let  a  mere  reti-hing  of  the  fancy  deprive  them 
of  a  successful  leader.*  And  there  was  never  wanting,  at  any 
time,  stauiudi  su'pporters  and  enthusiastic  admirers  of  the  "hero 
of  Oss  rwatioinie,"  among  the  household  and  familiar  priests  of 
the  Jibolition  god.  These  coi.fidential  and  domestic,  counsellors 
of  the  popular  divinity,  who  conducted  the  mys-erious  rites  of 
the  inteiior  altar,  and  whose  secret  councils  were  held  behind 
the  veil  which  limited  the  reach  of  public  penetration,  they, 
of  course,  never  thought  of  abandoning  such  a  profitable  fanatic 
as  old  Hi'own.  They  knew  the  "  service  he  had  done  the  state," 
and,  if  they  were  not  grateful,  they  were  at  least  anxious  to  re- 
tain such  a  valuable  servant  What  had  excited  horror  in  others 
not  so  deeply  dyed  in  villainy  as  themselves,  only  excited  in  them 
sentiments  of  esteem  and  afteition.  So,  these  venerated  apostles 
of  tlie  faith.  inste;id  of  snubbing  the  invaluable  old  muiderer, 
gently  stroked  the  silver  hairs  of  the  fierce  old  fellow,  and,  patting 
him  on  the  btck,  called  him  by  endearing  names.  They  sup- 
plied his  wants,  gave  him  meney,  and  revived  his  drooping  spirits. 

The  prospect  of  more  lucrative  and  agreeable  employment, 
and  the  increasing  certainty  of  an  immunity  fr«in  put  lie  scorn  or 
inte'ruplion  from  the  o(li<ersof  the  law,4iow  that  public  opinion 
was  eveiy  day  yielding  to  the  systeinatic  attacks  of  abolition, 
caused  Hrown  to^ntertain  more  extensive  and  more  daring  enter- 
prises. Now.  that  he  was  outlawed  in  Missouii,  abho'ed  in  Kansas, 
ami  persecuted  liy  his  creditors  everywhere,  it  was  more  than  ever 
necessary  *.o  do  something.  So,  driven  l»y  despair  and  deluded 
by  the  whisperings  of  an  ambition  wliicii,  by  this  time,  a  vindic- 
tive malice  inflamed,  he  listened  to  the  flattering  language  of  his 
artful  employers,  and,  with  their  a.^sistance,  conceived  the  mad 
])lan  of  invadmg  the  southern  States  and  exciting  a  geneial 
servile  war  Mis  own  experience  in  Missouii,,  wheie  he  foun<i 
the  slave*  ever  ready  to  become  the  dupes  of  any  bold,  pasitive 
pers<:,n,  made  him  iinagine  that  they  would  fight  for  the  omanci- 


( 


'••»       •  JIIE     rW..    KtBl.LLIU.NS; 

jiation  of  their  rflce,  as  quickly  aR  they  would  nin  aw.tv  fioin  their 
iriristeis,  to  iTijoy  wli.if  tJ!*-'}-  were  le<l  to  It^lievc,  whs  an  fl\>iinn 
of  biissin  the  North  wliere  the  irlorioiis  t»iin  of  freedom  fiiiin>lied 
its  vntriiics  food  aU'l  raiment  without  money  aiiii  witliout  p'ice. 
l)oulill«KS,  too,  the  infernal  book  of  Helper,  which  did  so  much 
to  poison  and  mislead  the  northern  mind,  excited  no  little  influ- 
cnco,  in  determiniiii;  his  judgment,  with  regard  to  the  practica- 
bility of  arrayiny^  the  non  siaveholdinu  (•la!»s  a/jainst  the  slave- 
lioldin^'.  A  hold  ppirit,  a  mind  original  and  <-alm,  with  a  ?mall 
hand  of  hrare  and  well  drilled  nieu,  was  all  that  was  wanting, 
lie  proudly  imagined,  to  ignite  the  comhustihie  elements  of 
soutliern  society  and  envelope  the  whole  cursed  section  from  the 
I'otomac  to  tiie  Iiio  Grande  in  one  general  conflagration.  The 
Jirst  two  of  ihesfi  indispensalde  requisites,  lie  feh  sure  <liat  ho 
])0sses5ed  ;  and  his  wily  employers  promiseil  him  the  tliiril,  as 
well  as  those  sinews  of  war  wliich  he  mouM  need,  to  put  on  a 
Wiir  footing  his  army  of  black  and  wliite  recruits.  These  astute 
jucntora  wore  perfeittly  aware  ol  the  madness  of  the  scheme,  and 
iduK-kled  in  their  sleeves  at  Brown's  gullability.  They  knew 
that  there  was  not  <he  slightest  probability  of  success  for  Brown  ; 
but,  nevertheless,  their  object  would  be  gained.  Agitation, "agi- 
tation, was  the  source  of  their  vitality,  and  this  schemei  if  at- 
tempted, no  matter  with  what  result  attended,  was  certain  to 
jiroduce  it.  There  is  no  doubt  in  the  world  that  the  grand  plan 
was  origitihlly  their  own,  and  that  Brown's  expedition  against 
Virginia  was  only  a  part  of  it.  There  was  a  vastness  about  it 
dis])i(iportioiiate  to  his  ability  as  well  as  his  command  of  resources. 
Indeed,  their  underground  "  railroa<l  system,"  which  had  been 
jtiofrressing  for  years,  formed  an  appropriate  and  natural  culmina- 
tion in  the  conception  of  the  grauil  i>lan  For  a  long  time  pre- 
vious, abolition  emissaries  aiul  agents,  under  every  couceivablo 
disguise,  had  abuse<l  the  hospitality  and  imposed  upon  the  con- 
fidence of  the  southern  people,  ^nd  so  John  lirown  was  ad- 
mitted among  this  army  of  secret  spies,  and  for  a  time,  clotlied 
with  some  authority,  o\er  them.  The  graml  plan  was  a  widely 
organized  mheme  to  excnte  a  servile  insurrection  in  many  of  the 
densely  slave-populateii  districts  of  the  South,  lliese  were 
Relec'.ed  according  to  their  relative  gcograjihical  contiguity  and 
tlie  character  of*  their  ]>oj>ulation.  'J'he  United  States  lensus  re- 
turns had  been  studied  with  a  devilish  discrimination,  for  the 
T)urpose  of  gaining  the  desired  information.  The  number  of 
whiles  and  blacks,  males  and  females,  and  adults_^  of  each 
race  atjd  sex,  were  ascertained  apd  set  down.     As  an  evidence 


OR,   TUEASON    UNMASKED.  51 

that  these  insurrections  uere  not  expeyt^d  to  he  immediately 
cnislied,  a  connected  line  of  tliese  devoted  districts  was  selected, 
extending  from  the  South  Carolina  coast  to  the  western  frontier 
of  Arkansas.  Commencinir  at  (icori;etown  ?nd  Heanfort,  South 
Carolina,  they  stretched  alon<x  the  Savannah  and  ihrouoh  the 
interior  of  Georgia  to  tlie  Chattahoochee  river,  in  the  western 
part  of  Georgia.  From  thence,  the  prospective  iiurricane  of 
desolation  was  to  sweep  tlirough  contiguous  and  appropriate  dis- 
tricts, in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Alabama  and  Tombigbee  rivers, 
to  the  eastern  border  of  Mississippi.  Thence  westward,  across 
tlie  river,  to  and  along  the  Red  liver  plantations  to  the  western 
frontier  of  Arkansas,  where,  in  all  probability,  a  motley  column 
of  Indians,  mulattos,  negroes^nd  white  men,  were  to  be  precipi- 
tated from  the  redeemed  jilains  of  Kansao.  This  was  the  origi- 
nal plan  which  was  jtrepared  without  much  assistance  from  Brown. 
His  particular  business  was  tvi  make  a  military  diversion,  about 
the  same  time,  somewhere  in  Virginia,  and  thus  generalize  the 
sectional  bitterness  by  involving  the  border  as  well  as  the  cotton 
Stateg, 

In  all  probability,  it  was  only  some  of  the  most  delude^  fanat- 
ics of  the  North  who  believed  in  even  the  temjx>rary  success  of 
either  eftbrt;  while  the  smart  and  more  dangerous  ones,  who  used 
their  dupes,  as  all  unprincipled  men  use  their  despised  instru- 
ments of  villainy,  knew  that  most  of  the  overt  actors  in  the 
affair  were  likely  to  siifier  death  if  caught ;  and  so  they  took 
gri  at  pains  to  cover  up  well  their  footprints.  In  all  their  corres- 
pondence with  Brown,  they  used  fictitious  names  always;  and  held 
secret  audiences  with  liim.  ' 

Now,  while  Brown  was  thus  entrusted  with\he  particular  duty 

of  invading  Virginia,  his  boldness  and  untiring  activity  so  gained 

upon  the  confidence  of  his  employers,  that  he  finally  came  to 

exercise  a  general  superintendence  over  the  whole  affair.     This 

was  rather  permitted  thf  n  authorized  ;  for  he  was  always  ready 

to  assume  laborious  responsibilities,  if  tiiey  increased  the  scope 

of  his  authority.     But  while  his  peculiar  function  was  to  sound 

the   non-slaveholding,  riff-rafT  population    of  the   mountains  of 

Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  prepare  the  negroes  near  Harper's 

I  Ferry   for  his  coming,  that  of  the   rest  of  the  brotherhood    was 

1  to  fix  the  mine  that  was  to  upheave  the  cotton  States,     'I'he  plan 

I  was  in  character  witli  the  series  of  other  plans   of  destruction, 

whi(di  they  liave  tiied,  without  success  in   this   war,  beginning 

with   the  '' annconda''''   and  en  ling  with   tha  ^'  attrition.''''     Thii, 

perhaps,  inight  be  called,  in  the  graphic  and  sejeet  nomenclature 


•>-  THE    TWO    UEBELLlONe; 

of  the  i  in  agin  a  Live  wrilcrs  of  the  North,  the  vulcanic  or  the  in- 
ternal conculsion  planT 


CHAPTER    XI. 

PREI'AIIATIONS    FOR    SPRINGING    THE    MINE. 

John  Brown  hct  about  makintr  the  prepanitions  for  his  part 
of  the  work  with  his  u.sual  dilij^ei^jp.  The  field  of  htbur  was  cun- 
geuial  and  gratil'yins;.  His  vanity  was  tickled  at  the  •irandeur 
of  the  job,  and  his  ambition  and  avarice  were  excited  by  the 
prospect  of  reward  Visions  of  fame,  as  the  bberator  of  a 
despised  race,  iHin<.'led  with  his  dreams  of  plunder,  power,  and 
ven<:;eance.  The  very  inception  of  the  vast  undertakinu  liad 
intoxicated  him  with  the  emotions  of  the  sublime,  lie  felt 
his  soul  expand  as  he  dwelt  upon  ihe  plory  of  the  attempt, 
and  alteady,on  the  wings  of  iniai:iuation,  heard  tlio  thundering 
plaudits  ol".  the  emancipated  niillinns,  the  dying  i-lirieks  of  the 
hated  slaveholder,  and  the  congratulations  of  liis  i'ault  finding 
friends  and  creditors,  liut.  should  these  especfations  pr<»ve 
groundless;  should  the  ilcg.  nerate  non-slaveholders  and  igno- 
rant slaves  let  slip  the  golden  opportunity  to  gain  independ- 
ence, he  would  still  have  the  benefit  of  disbursing  the  money 
invested  by  the  brotherhood  in  this  enterprise,  and  Would, 
moreover,  have  the  pleasure  of  killing  a  few  slaveholders;  and 
then,  by  means  of  prisoners  a,s  hostages, could  secure  his  jiersonal 
safety  and  bide  liis  time.  Such,  no  doubt,  as  his  subse(|Uonfc 
conduct  showed,  wore  the  reflections  oi"  Brown.  His  activity 
and  restless  energy  in  making  the  necessary  preparations,  seem 
to  have  won  the  coiifi  lence  of  his  employers,  and  he  was,  ap- 
parently, invested  with  more  and  more  authiu'ity.  His  active 
and  busy  mind,  seemed  to  have  interfere<l  in  all  the  arrange- 
ments, whetlierof  the  military  or  combustible  kind.  Now,  he  is 
in  Iowa,  superintending  the  drilling  of  his  army  of  invasion; 
eometinics  on(|uiring  into  their  military  progress  and  en- 
lightening th'Mu  in  one  moment  upon  the  art  of  war,  by  relating 
pomc  of  his  own  experience  in  Kan.«as,  in  the  next,  pronounc- 
ing a  sermon  on  the  crime  of  slavery;  sometimes  higgling 
with  their  lanludy  about  the  amount  of  their  board  bill.    Now, 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  53 

he  is  iu  Chicago  or  Boston,  in  close  confab  with  tlic  moneyed 
elders  of  the  taith,  and  explaining  the  necessity  of  larger  con- 
tributions. He  seems  to  be  ubiquitous,  embracing  the  whole 
of  the  old  United  States  within  the  limits  of  his  care  and 
supervision.  Sometimes,  like  an  ancient  apostle,  he  travelled 
from  point  to  point,  leaving  a  crumb  of  comfort  wherever  he 
stopped,  blessing  the  radicals  and  .stirring  up  the  dough-faces, 
with  his  brn.wny  logic;  sometimes  visiting  arsenals  and  armo- 
ries, and  adding  to  his  already  large  stock  of  information 
precious  bits  of  facts  abuut  the  laws  of  projectiles  or  the 
range  of  different  calibres;  sometimes  strolling  through  the 
South,  picking  up^craps  of  gossip  and  scandal,  and  prying 
into  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  people  wUose  hospitality  he 
enjoyed. 

Ilis  curiosity,  like  that  of  all  Yankees,  was  as  universal  as 
it  was  impertineut;  while  his  vanity  was  beyond  all  description 
ridiculous,  more  especially  when  he  came  to  differ  with  south- 
ern men.  There  w;is  no  subjcct^ith  which  he  Was  not  entirely 
familiar,  and  perhaps  more  thoroughly  versed  in  thart  even 
other  peoplS,  but  especially  slaveholders,  could  hope  to  be.  If 
one  adduced  propositions  which  he  had  not  heard  of,  of  course 
they  were  false,  for  if  they  had  been  true,  he  would  have 
known  them.  This  assumed  infallibility  was  pot  confined  to 
those  ordinary. subjects  (tt  conversation  among  the  unlearned, 
but  to  the  most  abstruse  and  mysterious.  He  differed  from 
most-Yankees  in  one  respect.  While  they  usually  ask  a  great 
matiy  questions  in  regard  to  people's  affairs,  they  do  so  appa- 
rently from  the  expectation  that  the  knowlfed're  acquired  will 
some  day  or  other  be  of  some  benefit  to  them.  But  John 
Brown  asked  questions  more  for  the  purpose  of  slUlwing  his 
own  knowledge  than  for  any  other.  Still  there  was  a  kind  of 
method  in  his  madness  and  some  consistency  in  his  meander- 
ings  and  s^trange  enquires. 

The  irrepressible  African  was  the  central  object  with  which 
everything .  of  interest  to  him  had  .some  cor.nection.  He 
adopfe<l  every  variety  of  disguise  to  conceal  a  design  which  no 
-man  would  have  ri.sked  his  reputation  for  common  sense  by 
cuspccting  him  of.  Now  he  was  a  travelling  agent,  now  a 
vender  of  clocks,  and  now  a  searcher  after  ore  veins.  Siyue- 
timcs  he  seems  to  have  disgui.'sed  himself,  from  a  mere  force  of 
the  habit  of  masquerading  through  the  cotintry,  and  at  other 
times  fnim  the  niL-re  love  of  nnvolty.  It  must  have  been  with 
this  motive,  that  he,  a  six-footer,  donned  "the  habillimeuta  of 


•  •^  Tin:    TW.",  RrDF.i.i.ioxs; 

the  other  sex.  and  promenaded  the  country  over  in  hose  and 
petticoat.  There  are  a  great  many  persons  who  asserted  most 
positively  that  he  did  so.  For,  is  soon  as  they  saw  him  in 
prison,  they,  without  concert,  agreed  in  pronouncing  him  the 
I'xact  counterpart  ol"  a  strange-looking  woman  that  had  been 
in  their  neighborhood,  upon  whose  extraordinary  height  and 
stout  appearance,  all  had  re-marked,  as  well  as  the  odd  things 
she  did  and  lier  eccentric  manner  of  locomotion.  While  he 
was  tlius  engaged  with  exercising  a  general  superintendence 
over  the  developnient  of  the  grand  plan,  it  was  upon  Harper's 
Terrj-  and  its  environs  that  he  directed  his  particular  atten- 
tion. 

Nearly  two  yc^rs  pfbvious  to  the  date  of  the  eruption  at 
that  place,  he  sent  his  fchief  assistant.  Cook,  to  reconnoitre  and 
obtain  the  information  necessary  to  the  perfection  of  the  plan. 
Cook  was  an  ordinary  f^pecimen  of  quite  a  numerous  class  in 
the  northern  cities,  at  that  time.  Jle  was  a  half-educated, 
amiable  coxcomb,  whom  idleness  and  dissipation  had  ruined, 
and  who,  having  exhausted  his  money  and  his  credit,  had 
chosen  the  calling  of  a  freedom-shrieker,  rather  than  that  of 
faro-dealing.  His  vanity  was  nearly  as  great  as  IJrowu's;  but 
lie  was  without  any  »if  that  bull-dogged  force  of  character  that 
}iis  leader  po.sse.'.scd .  He  had  participat<;d  with  lirown  in 
much  of  liis  performances  in  Kan.sas,  and  like  him,  having 
been  outlawed  by  the  Governor  of  ^lissouri  and  having  a  re- 
ward set  on  his  head,  was  desperate  and  prepared  fiu*  any 
mad  scheme.  He  was  a  sentimental,  dreamy  youth,  of  a  san- 
guine disj)osition,  and  full  of  vagaries.  His  principal  accom- 
])lishments,  at  least  those  which  he  most  prided  himself  upon, 
were  ski|^n  shooting  a  pistol  or  dashing  off  a  verse  of  poetry. 
AVithout  principle  or  courage,  conceited  and  visionary,  rather 
than  ambitious,  he  was  u  fit  character  to  become  a  tool  of  old 
Hrown.  And  such,  in  a  great  measure,  he  was.  He  eaiue  to 
the  Ferry,  according  to  the  instructions  of  IJrown,  and  em- 
ployed himself  in  sounding  the  population,  white  and  black, 
and  gathering  information  of  every  variety.  While  there,  ho 
visited  the  farmers  of-  tlie  neighborhood  and  county,  finding 
out  the  number  of  their  slayes  and  the  other  valuable  property 
which  they  possessed.  Brown  himself,  from  time  to  time,  ap- 
jicaVed  at  the  Ferry;  di.sguising  the  object  of  his  visits  by  pre- 
tending to  be  looking  for  ore  veins. 

\u  order  to  operate  with  still  greater  security,  IJrown  rented 
the  Kennedy  farm,  n  small  mountaiu  place  in  the  wountuius  of 


M 


OR,    TREAH05;     UNMASKED.  5J» 

Maryland,  aud  situated  about  four  miles  from  the  Ferry.  From 
this  farm  to  the  I'eunsylvania  line,  was  a  seldom-trodden  val- 
ley or  hollow  which  was  the  thoroughfare  Brown  adopted  for 
his  channel  of  travel  and  communication,  and  through  which 
he  expected  to  bring  his  army  of  invasion.  With  the  Ken- 
nedy farm  for  his  field  headquarters,  then,  and  the  necessary  re- 
connoissances  having  been  made,  he  proceeded  to  mature  his 
warlike  preparations.  Having,  with  great  diflficulty,  obtained 
from  his  employers  a  sufficiency  of  funds,  he  proceeded  to  ex- 
pend it  in  that  kind  of  material  of  war,  which  he  thought  he 
would  most  need.  Besides  an  indefinite  quantity  of  picks  and 
shovels,  ropes,  and  other  similar  stores,  he  purchased  two  hun- 
dred Sharp's  rifles,  two  hundred  Maynard  revolvers,  and  about 
one  thous.'ind  spears.  *Tlie  rifles  and  pistols,  he  designed  (as 
he  told  Governor  Wise,)  to  put  in  the  hands  of  his  expected 
white  recruits,  while  the  spears  were  intended  for  the  negroes. 
He  had  been  promised  aid,  he  said,  from  Maryland,  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Canada.  With  an 
army,  then,  consisting  of  blacks  and  whites,  he  expected  to 
make  the  Blue  Ridge  his  base,  and,  advancing  along  its  top, 
southward,  extending  as  he  went  his  conquests  and  his  power, 
he  expected  to  penetrate  into  Northern  Georgia  and  form  a 
junction  there  with  a  column,  which  was  to  proceed  in  the 
same  triumphal]  manner  from  l^eaufort,  South  Carolina,  along 
the  route  which  has  been  already  defined. 

In  this  way,  the  southern  States  were  to  be  interpenetrated,  . 
bisected,  and  trisected,  aud  heaved  asunder  generally,  by  the 
magnificient  workings  of  the  volcanic  plan.  The  absurdity  of 
the  scheme  is  apparent  to  every  one ;  but  the  madness  of  the 
plan  does  not  seem  so  great,  when  it  is  recollected  how  the 
whole  northern  people,  as  well  as  their  military  leaders,  have 
more  than  ouce  since,  indulged  in  similar  visionary  plots  for 
our  destruction. 


00  -inr   TWO  redellions; 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    CONVENTION    AT     CHATHAM — TUK    "PLAN    OF    ACTION*' 
ADOPTED. 

While  we  have  thus  given  our  special  attention  to  that  por- 
tion of  the  first  rebel  conspiracy  which  wa.s  more  directly  con- 
nected with  the  outbreak  in  Virginia,  we  have  been  lead  to 
pass  over  a  very  important  event  which,  from  the  date  of  its 
occurrence,  and  from  the  flood  nf  light  it  throws  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  jcbellion,  was  entitled  to  an  earlier  notice.  This 
was  the  grand  radical  convention  held  by  the  conspirators  ut 
Chatham,  West  Canada,  May  {^,  JS58. 

The  whole  proceeding.s  of  that  august  body  of  reformers,  as 
recorded  by  Mr.  Kagi,  the  secretary,  is  before  us;  and,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  present  besotted  generation,  and  the  innocent 
millions  yet  unborn,  we  propose  to  allude  to  some  of  the  strik- 
ing features  of  that  momentous  perfornjance. 

The  convention  was  composed  of  thirty-five  illustrious  mem- 
bers of  the  human  species.  Ten  of  these  were  white  men, 
while  the  remaining  twenty-five  presented  in  their  array  of 
physiognomies  an  interesting  mosaic,  in  which  several  of  the 
elementary  tints  of  the  rainbo<V  might  have  been  discovered. 
The  genuine  African,  with  his  curly  locks  and  ebony  counte- 
nance, intermingled,  at  intervaLs,  in  the  bright  galaxy,  served 
to  set  off  to  advantage  the  red,  yellow,  and  dusky-brown  heroes 
who  made  up  the  main  body  ot   the  assenihly. 

After  the  meeting  had  been  called  to  order,  and  the  usual 
preliminaries  oi'  organization  comjileted,  Mr.  Brown,  it  seems, 
took  upon  himself  the  onerous  duty  ol"  stating  the  object  of  the 
convention.  Thus  statement  was  followed  up  by  the  aforesaid 
lirown's  presenting,  for  the  consideration  of  his  fellow-senators, 
what  he  modestly  termed  a  "  plan  of  action."  This  "  jdan  of 
action",  was  enibodiinl  in  a  brief  preamble  and  forty-eight  arti- 
cles, with  a  schedule,  to  all  of  which  the  reader's  attention  is 
especially  invited.*  In  the  organic  law  of  the  proposed  gov- 
ernment, which  it  was  gravely  contemplated  to  substitute  for 
all  other  governments  then  in  existcHce  in  the  United  States, 
there  were  many  novel  leatures.     But  those  profound  legisla- 

*Soe  Appendix. 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  57 

tors,  who  bad  more  than  once  defied  the  minions  of  civil  au- 
thority, wore  neither  appalled  at  the  novielty  of  the  proposed 
changes  or  the  stupeudousncss  of  the  undertaking.  It  is  im- 
possible to  learn  from  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  what  flights 
of  elo(|uence  or  stunning  appeals  marked  the  progress *of  the 
discussion  of  the  merits  of  the  "plan  of  action."  We  only 
know  Uiat,  after  a  full  and  "satisfactory"  discussion,  the  con- 
vention unanimously  adopted  Mr.  Brown's  "plan  of  action." 

This  "constitution  of  the  provisional  government"  is  of  in- 
terest, not  only  as  revealing  the  designs  of  the  plotters  of  the 
first  rebellion  a*gainst  the  internal  peace  of  the  Great  Republic, 
but  also  because  it  exhibits,  iu  a  systematic  whole,  (even  as 
early  as  .^lay,  1858,)  the  "plan  of  action"  iu  a  great  measure 
followed  by  the  leading  insurgents  in  the  second  rebellion. 
What  was  then  and  there  agreed  upon  by  these  radical  out- 
laws is  the  almost  identical  compact  which  the  course  of  the 
present  wai*  has  revealed,  as  being  the  implied  league  of  blood 
between  the  grand  rebels  who,  for  nearly  four  years,  have  held 
armed  possession  of  the  former  natiuual  capital. 

The  main  point  of  the  preamble  is  to  announce  the  fact  that 
the  now  government  especially  contemplates  the  accession  of 
"  the  proscribed,  oppressed,  and  enslaved"  people  of  the  United 
States.  And  this,  and  the  qualification  for  membership  in  a 
following  article,  intimates  that  neither  sex,  color,  age,  politi- 
cal or  social  condition,  will  be  at  all  considered  against  anyone. 
So  that  all,  negroes,  jail-birds,  convicts,  and  disappointed  peo- 
ple of  both  sexes,  broken-down  tradesmen  or  disgraced  gentle- 
men, penniless  youths  and  strong-minded  women,  are  particu- 
larly invited  to  fall  in. 

When  it  is  borne  in  mind  what  a  number  of  people  was  em- 
braced in  these  classes,  in  the  North,  and  that  Brown  and  most 
of  his  confederates  belonged  to^he  "  proscribed  and  oppressed 
races,"  the  importance  of  this  point  will  be  appreciated. 

Articles  second,  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  are  devt)ted  to  a  de- 
scription of  the  different  branches  of  which  the  new  goveru- 
ment  is  to  consist  and  the  various  powers  belonging  to  each. 
In  these  respects*  the  rebels  condescend  to  copy  after  the  old 
Federal  Government,  making  a  liberal  provision,  however,  for 
whatever  important  additions  military  necessity  might  require. 
The  changes,  as  there  proposed,  have  been,  in  a  great  measure, 
adopted  by  their  astute  successors  in  treason,  though,  it  must 
be  confessed  that,  in  one  or  two  instances,  the  latt6r  have  been 
a  little  anticipated.     For  article  six  says  : 


58  TiiR  TWO  rebellions; 

"All  ennctmcnfj  of  the  lofrinlgtive  branch  .«h.»n,  to  hocome  valid,  during 
the  flr^t  ihret;  yenTf.  h»v«  the  H(ipr<ibattou  of  ibc  Prefidciit  aud  iho  '  cunt- 
tnnndrr-in-chic/t  of  thr  iiriny.'  " 

Thus,  the  commander-in-chief  is  clothed  with  a  cii-et|U;il  veto 
power  with  tlie  I'resident.  This  individual,  it  will  appear  in 
reading  the  "constitutinn,"  is  expected  to  be  a  vcrj  important 
personage.  In  addition  to  other  prerogatives  just  mentioned, 
he  is  "to  have  the  direction  and  control  of  the  afmy  and  advise 
with  the  allies."  He,  also,  substantially  po.^.ses.'^es  the  power 
of  appointing  the  Secretary  of  ^^'ar,  aud  caif  remove  him  at 
pleasure. 

Now,  in  respect  to  this  functionary,  it  must  be  ct'vnfessed 
that  no  kind  ol"  enactment  by  the  rebel  congress  yet  gives  him 
all  the  power  in  the  Iwncoln  government  that  he  had  under 
Mr.  lirown's.  Hut,  every  one  must  confess  that,  every  day, 
the  Yankee  commander-in-chief  is  growing  in  importance  at 
the  North,  and,  from  all  appearances,  he  will  soon  be,  if  he 
is  not  virtually  already,  as  powerful  with  the  second  as  he  was 
with  the  first  rebels. 

We  now  come  to  the  powers  of  the  central  congress  as  laid 
down  in  the  C!hatham  constitution.  Thc^e  articles  which  de- 
scribe these  may  be  safely  regarded  as  a  pretty  correct  inventory 
of  the  powers  which  the  pnsent  rebel  congress  at  Washington 
have  hi'lprd  themstlrrs  to  already. 

lu  the  organic  laws  which  either  rebellion  professes  to  be 
governed  by,  the  existence  of  the  States  is  aeknowledged  ;  but, 
practically,  neither  government  contem])lates  anything  more 
than  mere  nominal  »uth(jrity  as  belonging  to  the  States.  The 
present  rebel  congress  pays  no  regard  to  the  obsolete  idea  of 
State  sovereignty.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  ignore  their  existence, 
except  as  mere  passive  agents  to  execute  its  deelared.will. 

Articles  sixteen  and  seventeen  describe  some  of  the  special 
duties  of  the  President  and  Secretary  of  State.  These  are  rare 
and  interesting,  as  furnishing  such  a  full  account  of  a  few  of 
the  Hpeeial  duties  which  Mes.srs.  liiucoln  and  Seward  have 
felt  called  upon  to  perform  lor  several  years  past. 

No  doubt,  when  their  proj)osed  schemes  of  confiscation  and 
subjugation  are  completed,  they  will  have  a  much  jollier  time 
performing  all  the  special  duties  imposed  in  the  aforesaid  arti- 
cles. What  a  6eld  for  the  exercise  of  their  administrative  tal- 
ents will  the  appointment  of  preachers,  school-marms,  inn- 
keepers, and  intelligence  agents,  aftord  I 

"  The  places  of  deposit  and  sale,"  alluded  to  in  article  sev- 


OU,    TREASON    UNMASKEn.  59 

enteen,  which  the  President  and  Secretary  of  State  are  to  se- 
lect, doubtless  are  lor  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  disposition 
of  stolen  valuables  ot  various  kinds.  It  is  not,  positively,  stated 
that  they  are  to  superintend  the  sale  of  the  aforesaid  val- 
uables. But,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  ^Ir.  Lincoln  will 
stand  on  technical  trifles,  when  such  a  fine  opportunity  for 
playing  the  popular  clown  will  be  offered  to  him,  aa  acting  in 
the  character  of  a  national  auctioneer.  In  the  far  di.stant  i'u- 
ture,  we  think  we  see  him  now,  dwelling  with  vulgar  vivBcity 
over  the  qualities  of  the  stolen  ware,  and  cracking  innocent 
jokes  at  -the  expense  of  the  quandam  owners,  while  the  dear 
mob  around  split  their  greasy  sides  with  laughter. 

The  remaining  articles  of  the  "  constitution"  are  mainly  de- 
voted to  an  exposition  of  the  ground  idea  of  the  whole  "  plan." 
This  ground  idea-is,  evidently  to  build  up,  on  the  ruins  of  ex- 
isting laws  and  .institutions,  a  sort  of  Utopian  despotism,  in 
which  the  "enemies  of  the  government"  are  to  be  deprived  of 
their  capacity  to  do  further  evil  by  the  loss  of  their  liberty 
and  worldly  gear,  while  the  loyal  citizens  are  to  form  a  sort  o^ 
aristocratic  I'raternity,  whose  patriotic  duty  ifwill  be<o  punish 
disloyalt}-  at  all  hours  and  upon  all  occasions  "  promptly  and 
eifectually,"  and  "without  the  formality  of  a  complaint."  The 
confiscation  of  the  property  of  all  slaveholders  and  "other  dis- 
loyal persons,"  and  the  various  modes  of  breaking  their  spirits 
and  reducing  them  to  the  condition  of  serfs,  are  dwelt  upon  at 
great  length,  as  important  means  for  the  establishment  of  the 
granfJ  L^topian  empire. 

Occasionally,  a  brief  article  steps  in  between  these  terrible 
enactments,  to  enjoin  upon  the  loyal  the  practice  of  a  few  of 
those  virtues  which  the  Puritans  have  generally  practised  from 
motives  of  meanness.  Sach,  for  instance,  as  sobriety,  indus- 
try, and  economy. 

The  duty  of  labor  is  gravely  rec<.)mmended  to  all,  not,  as  it 
appears,  I'roni  the  formidable  preparations  made  for  swindling 
and  robbing,  that  any  such  necessity  is  expected  to  arise,  but 
because  there  is  a  supposed  p'vritanic  virtue  in  labor  which  el- 
evates and  dignifies  the  Yankee  species. 

Here  also,  we  find  elaborated,  for  the  benefit  of  the  abolition 
proconsuls,  who  are  expected  to  rule  over  the  conquered 
districts,  many  of  those  charming  instruments  of  rtioral  torture, 
such  as  oaths  of  neutrality  and  allegiance,  registering,  etc., 
which  IJutler,  Milroy,  and  others,  have  used  with  so  much  suc- 
cess. Doubtless,  these  worthies  will  be  quick  to  deny  that  they 


60  THE    TWO    nEBELLIONS; 

borrowed  any  of  their  bright  ideas  for  inflicting  cruelty,  from 
the  Chatliain  "  plan  of  action."  Tlie  security  of  tht-ir  own 
fame,  among  their  illustrious  fellovr-citizens,  requires  that  they 
should  assert  the  claims  of  their  own  originality. 

While  we  are  willing  to  admit  thi.i^,  we  are  compelled,  for  the 
sake  of  truth,  to  insist  that  the  same  spirit  of  evil  must  have  in- 
spired each  great  original,  in  order  to  explain  the  wonderful  sinii- 
larity  of  their  devilish  crcatiims  In  <ither  words,  that  spirit 
of  malignant  antifiathy  to  the  southerner,  united  with  the 
love  of  greed,  which  exi'^ts  in  all  Yankees,  was  bound  to  pro- 
duce that  class  of  thieves  and  beasts,  the  existence  of  wliich 
was  recognized  in  the  Chatham  constitution,  and  of  which 
Butler  and  Milroy  are  distinguished  members.  The  plotters 
of  the  first  rebellion  were  bolder,  because  more  desperate;  but 
they  had  not  the  serpent  wisdom  of  the  plott'ers  of  the  second 
rebellion.  They  committed  the  folly  of  adiuitting  to  each 
other,  and  even  putting  in  black  and  white,  .some  of  the  terri- 
ble thing.s,  they  foresaw  must  be  done  in  order  to  consummate 
their  "plan  of  action." 

The  leadeTs  of  tlie  second  rebellion  were  certainly  as  bloody- 
minded  as  their  predecessors  in  crime,  and  I'orsaw  with  mure 
distinctness,  the  terrible  means  they  would  have  to  adopt  to 
insure  success.  But  they  were,  however,  too  cunning  to  alarm 
the  fastidious  sensitiveness  of  their  malicious  but  timid  sup- 
porters, by  anticipating  the  horrors  of  the  future.  It  was 
nece.s,sary  to  entangle  their  poor  dupes,  step  by  step,  ig  the 
meshes  of  debt  and  crime,  before  any  of  the  truth  couui  be 
revealed. 

From  the  innovations  and  changes  which  have  marked  the 
inception  and  progress  of  the  second  rubellion,  the  assumption 
fji'  executive  power,  the  blotting  out  of  State  lines,  the  intro- 
duction of  a  gigantic  system  of  confiscation  and  robbery,  the 
organization  of  an  extensive  and  ubiquitous  army  of  spies  and 
agents,  one  is  forced  to  conclude  that,  the  moral  or  immoral 
causes  which  njoved  the  first  rebellion,  moved  also,  and  still 
sustain,  the  second.  The  striking  similarity  between  the  jiro- 
poscd  plan  of  the  (Chatham  conspirators,  and  the  one  that  has 
already  been  adopted  by  their  successors  in  treason,  is  truly 
wonderful.  And  one  is  almost  ready  to  believe  that  Seward 
and  Lincoln 'have  been  using  the  Chatham  constitution  as  a 
pattern  after  which  to  model  the  despotism  which  they  now 
enjoy  at  Washington. 

There   is  one  feature  in  the  Chatham  "plan"  which,  more 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  61 

than  any  other,  vividly  calls  up  the  majestic  forms  of  Messrs. 
]jincolD  and  Seward.  Near  the  winding  up  of  their  provisional 
document,  occasion  is  taken  to  inform  the  world,  with  all  the 
gravity. of  mighty  legislators  who  feel  the  weight  of  their  re- 
sponsibility, that  the  whole  object  of  their  scheme  is  to  amend 
the  constitution,  and  not  to  overthrow  it. 

How  naturally,  upon  reading  this  "article,"  the  mind  recurs 
to  the  language  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  when  he  has  just  promulgated 
someone  of  his  numerous  despotic  edicts.  Every  act  of  dissolu- 
tion, he  declares,  is  for  the  sake  of  the  Union.  With  the  knife 
yet  reeking  in  his  hand,  he  proclaims  that  the  Union  has  been 
stabbed  for  the  good  of  the  Union.  Oh,  Union  !  what  crimei^ 
have  been  committed  in  thy  name.  Indeed,  it  seems  as  if  the 
curse  which  overshadows  the  land,  is  a  divine  punishment  for 
an  idolatry  of  that  same  Union.  Since,  in  its  name,  and  under 
the  cloak  of  its  worship,  has  been  introduced  every  evil  which, 
for  the  last  half  of  a  century,  has  afflicted  this  country. 

Five  years  ago,  when  people  read  this  "  Chatham  constitu- 
tion," they  could  not  but  smile  at  the  many  queer  provisions 
in  it,  for  the  administering  of  oaths,  the  registering  of  names, 
and  the  various  punishments  for  disloyalty.  They,  invariably, 
rose  from  its  perusal  with  the  conviction,  that  the  conspirators 
at  Chatham  were  as  mad  as  March  hares.  But  how  different 
do  those  same  persons  think  now.  At  least,  if  they  still  insist 
that  the  conspirators  of  1858-9,  were  mad,  they  must  also  ad- 
mit that  the  same  madness  had  already,  in  a  measure,  seized 
upon  a  large  majority  of  the  sovereigns  of  the  North. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

COLONEL    FORBES — 18    A  RTVA^,    AND    BETRAYER    OF    BROWN. 

While  Brown  was  thus  engaged  in  laying  the  foundations  of 
a  new  government  which  was  to  supercede  the  old  and  rotten 
one  of  '70,  and  was  gradually  maturing  his  plans  of  military  in- 
vasion, there  was  another  "  Richmond  in  the  field,"  endeavor- 
ing to  contest  the  palm  of  success  'With  the  "  Kansas  hero." 

Oilonel  Forbes,  an  English  abolitionist  of  the  Exeter  hall 
school,  "wa*,  for  some  time,  a  co-laborer  and  afterwards  a  for- 


02  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

midablc  humanitarian  rival  of  Brown.  He  \ras  connected  with 
Garrabaldi  m  his  revuliifionary  attempt  cif  1H4^*.  in  some  capa- 
city, and  afterward.^  turned  up  iu  this  CdUiitry,  during  the  Ran- 
has  war,  as  (inc  nl'  the  aholition  mercenaries. 

After  the  rest»»ration  of  quiet  in  Kansa.«i,  he  was  empKiyed 
by  the  ahcjhtion  leaders,  to  as.sist  IJrown  in  making  the  neces- 
Hary  preparations  for  the  conhiimmation  of  the  volcanic  plan. 
Brown,  perhaps,  desirous  of  not  being  interfered  with  in  his 
arranL'ements,  and  unwilling  to  share  the  profits  of  disbursing 
the  money  of  the  brotherh<tod,  assigned  Forbes  to  the  duty  of 
drilling  his  raw  levies  in  Iowa.  Forbes  acted  in  this  capacity 
for  several  mouths,  moving  his  rorps-d'-mmrr  of  sixteen  men 
from  village  to  village  to  avoid  suspicion,  and  drilling  them 
daily  in  all  the  severe  exercises  of  a  soldier.  Finally,  however, 
the  pay  and  provender  which  he  received  from  the  chief  not 
coming  up  to  his  expectations,  Forbes  made  complaint  to  the 
higher  authorities.  Getting  no  satisfaction,  he  abandoned  his 
post  and  went  in  person  to  the  pillars  ot  the  order  to  state  his 
ease  and  demand  the  balance  of  pay  that  was  due  him.  'J  fi''J/ 
referred  him  to  the  abolition  eommis.sariat  general.  Ibis  dis- 
tinguished official  could  do  nothing  lor  him,  and  Forbes  dis- 
covered that  he  had  I'allen  among  thieves.  . 

(Ireely,  the  most  thoroughbred  villain  among  them  all,  when 
Forbes  made  application  to  him,  retreated  behind  the  strict 
letter  of  the  law,  and  pleaded  that  he  was  not  bound  by  Brown's 
Contract.  iSanborn,  the  >;eeretary  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society 
of  Boston,  and  Howe,  an  infamous  abolitionist  of  the  same 
city,  made  similar  excuses'.  Thus  di.sappoiuted  all  around, 
and  unable  to  procure  the  means  of  support  for  his  family, 
Forbes  commenced  denouncing  all  the  New  England 
abolitionists.  Still,  his  pecuniary  embarra.ssmcnt8  ad- 
monished him  not  to  alienate  his  only  employers  by  untimely 
imprudence.  And,  so,  again  and  again  he  besieged  them  with 
petitions  and  entreaties.  These  having  failed,  he  tried  the 
efficacy  of  making  a  suggestion  as  to  the  folly  of  Brown's 
uiiilertaking.  Necessity  gave  an  impetus  to  his  genius,  and 
he  i'ormed  a  new  plan  lor  prosecuting  the  noble  work  which  had 
met  with  such  success  in° Kansas,  and  this,  he  submitted,  wan 
i'ar  better  than  Brown's  Tliis  was,  simj)ly,  an  organized  sys- 
tem of  stampeding  slaves  along  the  border  States  and  thus 
driving  the  institution  furtilier  South. 

Ili'wever  acceptable  any  plan  of  this  sort  might  have  been 
to  Greely  <5ii  Co.,  it  did  not  approach  Brown's  iu  siguifit'ance  or 


_l 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  03 

value.  It  was  too  slow  a  process.  This  they  had  learned  by 
expt'ileiice.  Besides,  their  object  was  not  to  free  the  slaves  so 
much  as  it  was  to  agitate  the  question  and,  upon  the  excite- 
ment which  this  agitation  would  cause,  to  make  fame  and  name 
and  money.  And,  then,  there  was  their  vindictive  malice  to 
be  gratified  ;  and  Brown's  plan  was  likely  to  cause  some  blood 
to  fluw.     So  the  abolitionists  would  not  listen  to  Forbes. 

l>riven  to  despair  by  the  avarice  and  the  folly  of  his  aboli- 
tion masters,  he  cherished,  now,  nothing  but  resentment  to- 
wards Brown  and  the  rest  of  them.  So,  inflamed  with  indig- 
nation, he  denounced  the  Harper's  Ferry  plan  to  man,  of  the 
leading  repulicans.  To  his  astonishment,  they  manifested  as 
little  surprise  or  concern  as  Grcely  &  Co.  He  found  that  the 
leading  republicans  not  only  knew  all  about  it,  but  were  perfectly 
indifferent  as  to  what  might  come  of  it.  Forbes  had  been  too 
long  a  plain,  blunt  scoundrel  to  understand  the  complications  of 
northern  politics.  He  could  not  under?;tand  how  abolitionists 
and  republicans  alike  cared  little  whether  Brown  failed  or  suc- 
ceeded ;  so  he  made  the  attempt. 

There  was  another  mj-stery  also,  which  Foabes  stumbled  upon 
in  his  underground  experience  with  old  Brown.  He  found 
that  the  philanthropic  abolitionists  and  the  office-seeking  re- 
publicans were  not  alone  interested  in  the  hnj»penip(j  of  the  in- 
surrectionary attempt.  The  cotton  speculators  of  New  York 
and  Boston  felt  an  interest  in  it  Brown  told  him  that  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Lawrence,  Stone,  &  Co.,  had  promised  him 
?S,000  if  he  .succeeded  in  his  attempt.  Of  course,  they  knew  it 
would  not  succeed,  and,  5'et,  they  too  wanted  it  to  hajippn. 

Mi/xteri/  on  fop  of  mi/sffri/ !  Nobody  but  Brown  thought  it 
was  going  to  succeed,  and,  yet,  every  one  he  had  talked*to 
about  it,  showed  the  same  indifference  and  unconcern.  It 
did  not  occur  to  Forbes  that,  upon  the  breaking  out  of  anything 
like  a  formidable  servile  insurrection  in  the  South,  the  public 
entimate  of  the  capacity  of  the  slave-labor  Bystem  to  produce 
cotton  would  diminish,  and.  hence,  in  consequence  of  an  ex- 
pected diminution  in  the  production  of  the  raw  material,  all 
cotton  and  cotton  fabrics  on  hand  would  advance  in  price.  This 
was  a  ci'mmcrcial  way  of  viewing  political  and  social  revolution 
that  be  neither  appreciated  nor  landed.  He  could  only  regard  it 
from  a  military  point  of  view,  and,  looking  at  i^  in  this  way,  he 
maintained  that  the  whole  plan  was  absurd,  and  so  kept  on 
denouncing  it  to  the  leading  republicaa.?. 


64  TUE   TWO  rebellions; 


CHAPTER    XTV. 

HALE,    RrMNER    AND    8EWAHD WHAT    IHEY    ARE    AN'D   WUOM    TUJCT 

REPRESENT. 

Amnn£r  thoRO  to  whom  lie  denounced  it,  were  Mes^^rs.  Suinner 
and  Hale  and  WilliHiii  II.  Sewnrd,  the  most  slii nine;  lijrhts  of  tlie 
repuhlicJins.  <.)f  these  three.  Hale  washy  far  the  most  rospecta- 
hle.  He  had  respect  enoiitrh  for  virtue  ami  patriotism  to  victira- 
ize  himself  hefoie  he  attempted  to  deceive  othei-s  in  regard  to 
his  professions  of  jdiilanthropv.  Of  course,  like  all  men  who 
prostitute  the  good  impulses  of  their  nature  to  gratify  the  crav- 
ings of  an  inordinate  ambition,  ho  must  have  had  occasional 
lu<id  intervals,  lint,  these  did  not  last  long,  and,  driven  hy  a 
stern  necessity  which  his  own  ambition  had  conjured  uj),  ho  soon 
returned  to  his  wallowing  in  the  mire.  Hut  Sumner  and  Seward 
did  not  have  to  mask  their  motives  under  a  feeling  of  benevo- 
lence in  order  to  get  the  approbation  of  their  judgments.  They 
merely  considered  what  others  thought,  and  were  governed  ac- 
cordingly. They  knew  perfectly  well  that  they  were  villains, 
but  endeavoured  to  keep  that  fact  carffullv  concealed  from  their 
constituents.  An)ong  the  many  political  reprobates  wl^o  con- 
spired to  mislead  the  already  much  abused  public  mind  of  tho 
North,  and,  upon  the  waves  of  error,  ride  triumphantly  into 
power,  there  was  such  a  variety  of  viciousness  and  de]iravity  of 
character  that  it  is  hard  to  pick  out  any  that  might  be  termed 
represser  tati  ve  villa  ins. 

Whenever  the  mind  singles  any  one  of  them  out  and  contem- 
plates his  character  for  a  moment,  so  vast  and  incompreheiiMblo 
is  the  magnitude  of  the  initpiity  discovered,  that  the 
imagination,  exhausted  in  its  ellort.s  lo  take  in  the  idea, 
produces  the  invaiiable  conclusion,  in  every  instance,  that  the 
grandest  villain  of  them  all  has  at  last  been  found.  !Not  that 
the  magnitude  of  the  initpiity  discoverable  in  eacdi  case,  isecnial, 
but  that  each  exceeds  Hie  capacity  of  our  comprehension.  Nor 
even  that  they  arc  similar,  for,  as  Christians  are  all  said  to  have 
si>ecial  gifts  lo  do  good,  according  to  their  talent-s,  so,  these  mer- 
cenaries of  Satan  seetn  to  have  .•special  gifts  to  do  evil,  according 
to  their  natural  and  actpiired  powers  of  wickedness.  Each,  in 
his  particular  sphere,  excites  our  wonder  and  hoiror  as  we  con- 
template him.  Cheever,  with  his  patiently  cullivatexl  powers  of 
blasphemy;  Greely,  with  his  elaborate  schemes  of  rapine  and 


OR,    TREASON   UNMASKED.  65 

murder;  Sumner,  with  liis  stuclied  imprecations,  smelling  of  the 
lam]t,  and  winged  with  tlie  envenomed  malice  of  his  vindictive, 
cowardly  heart,  and  cralty,  Satan-like,  Seward,  with  his  cold- 
blooded calculations  of  reckless  ruin  for  the  South,  'ihis  diffi- 
culty of  decidinjif,  then,  with  regard  to  the  relative  claims  of  the 
different  leaders  to  the  pRhn  of  pre-eminence,  compels  one  to  be 
governed  by  the  opinions  of  those  who,  from  long  experience, 
are  well  skilled  in  making  the  proper  discriminat'on.  The  north- 
ern people  must  decide,  and,  so  far  as  influence  and  political  suc- 
cess is  an  evidence  of  popularity,  Sumner  and  Seward  may  bo 
regarded  as  the  represe<ilalive-men  of  the  abolitionists  and  re- 
pul)licans. 

Sinnner  of  Massachusetts,  belongs  to  that  class  of  little  souls 
that  have  more  than  ordinary  intellects.  Their  large  mental 
faculties  lack  the  propelling  power  of  moral  energy  tojnake 
them  attempt  great  tilings.  Sumn«T,  ail  his  life,  has  experienced 
the  need  of  stiong  natuial  ])rop*-n?ities  to  give  direction  io  that 
intellectual  force  which  he  telt  capable  of  exerting.  With  an 
inordinate  vanity,  however,  but  with  little  ambition,  lie  soon 
lent  his  intellectual  capital  to  the  flattering  and  ambitious  com- 
mon-place abolition  leaders.  Pleased  with  a  constituency  which 
praised  his  talents  and  a  subject  th;it  was  well  suited  to  the 
heartless,  but  able  efforts  of  his  genius,  he  became  an  enthusiastic 
abolitionist.  A  devoted  student,  he  drew  from  the  inexhaustible 
fountains  of  classic  thought  that  taste  and  knowledge  whi(>h, 
while  they  elevate  the  sentiment  and  refine  the  imagination, 
often  obs<;ure  the  light  of  Chiisiian  philosophy  and  substi'ute 
for  the  simple  impulses  of  the  heart  the  suggestions  of  an  en- 
lighteue<l  understHndiug.  That  mental  power  and  polish,  which 
such  ac(|uirements  give,  he  used  to  form  a  sentimental  structure 
of  flViolition  belief,  which,  se<lucing  the  popular  heart  by  an  ex- 
altation of  its  idol,  would  advance  his  ))oliticaI  interests.  In  his 
skillful  hands,  radical  abolitionism  was  depiived  of  the  odium  of 
vulgarity  and  its  homely  a.«.sociations.  What,  at  first,  pppeared 
to  cultivate<l  minds  as  the  offspring  of  common  and  depraved 
natures,  when  prt-spnted  in  the  graceful  forms,  and  illustrated  in 
the  chaste  and  captrvating  imagery  of  his  artistic  rhetoric,  became 
exalted  and  dignified  into  a  philosophy  worthy  of  adoption  by 
the  most  refined  and  fastidious. 

There  were  men,  among  the  fanatics  and  politicians  of  abo- 
litionism, who  kept  alieaj  of  Sinnner,  in  the  readiness  with 
which  thev  discarded  every  common  sense  of  right  and  decency, 
in  their  bitter  anti-slavery  zeal ;  but  Sumner  stood  alone,  in  the 


GO  TFIE    TWO   KEBELLIONS; 

entliu*iasm  wiili  wliidi  he  pul'orneil  tlic  han.hiiai<lK  of  t-lasvsio 
taste  ainl  lofineiiuMil,  to  dijfuifv,  with  their  utt^daiiie,  ihe  dis- 
jl^iistii'g  monster,  abohtioiiisiii. 

If  Mnythiinr  was  waiiliiiLj  to  stimulate  a  mirnl,  wliirh  strove 
rathor  for  the  honey  of  ajipliiuse  than  tlie  st-eptre  of  power,  the 
taunliiip^  sneers  of  the  incensed  snntlierners.  euhninHting,  at  Last, 
in  a  severe  flagellation,  furnished  the  necessary  incentive.  The 
unexpected  manner  of  administering  rebuke  for  liis  rlxetorical 
insolence,  selected  by  Mr.  iJrooks  of  South  Carobna,  "quite 
vani|uished  him."  Vet,  ihougli  his  spirit  (piailed  and  his  coward 
heart  surrendej-ed  under  the  blows  ^f  the  insulted  senator,  liis 
venomous  nature  received  new  inspiration  from  the  corporeal 
drubbin};.  Every  blow  was  like  the  touch  of  Minerva's  magic 
w;md,  which  lilled  him  with  ihe  heavenly  llres  of  eloquence. 
His  menial  soul,  wliich,  like  a  whipped  spaniel,  cowered  beneath 
the  infliction  of  the  most  ilegrading  treatment,  shiuiik  from  an 
encounter  whi«h  otl'euded  honor  suggested,  auii  found  a  soothing 
balm  in  the  sonorous  beauties  of  well-roun<ieil  anathemas,  lie 
would  not  fight;  oh.  no  I  I5ut,  after  sutieiing  the  mt>st  dis- 
graceful treatment  at  the  hands  of  a  t'ellow  senator,  "he  would 
unpack  his  heart  with  words  and  fall  to  cursing."  not  "like  a 
drab,"  but  like  an  elegant,  relined  northern  gentleman,  liis 
civilized  sense  of  propriety,  abhorred  the  usage  of  swoids  and 
pistols,  but,  did  not  disdain  to  liml  envenomed  shafts,  dipped 
in  the  gall  of  his  coward  heart.  Every  arrow  sent,  was  a  signal 
for  applause,  and  every  pathetic  explanation  of  his  punishment 
and  his  poltroonery  excited  new  sympathy  in  a  congenial  pub- 
lic. What  a  commentary  uj)Oii  the  character  of  a  people,  when 
confessed  cowardice  becomes  one  of  tiie  tests  of  heroisuj  ?  For, 
though  Sumner  had  risen  into  notice,  he  was  never  distinguished 
and  inriuetilial,  at  the  North,  imtil  he  showed  himself  a  pollruon 
anij  ifloried  in  it.  Hofore  that,  his  udmirera  aiui  friends  were 
confined  to  the  abolitionists;  but,  that  act  of  exultant  tiirpituile, 
touched  the  heart  of  a  nation,  who  svmpathize<i  with  his  cow- 
ardice and  admired  him  because  his  defence  of  the  same _;«A7//iVrf 
t/ieni.sclves  u)i(o  tluinxelvc/i.  His  cause  was  llidr  cause,  and, 
though  they  did  not  approve  of  his  political  sentitnents,  they 
could  not  but  admire  such  a  skillful  defender  of  their  own  code 
of  projiriety. 

The  story  of  Sumner's  rise  to  greatness  is  without  a  ]>arrallel 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  In  reviewing  the  atinals  of  the 
pJist,  the  virtuous  mind  is,  sometimes,  ^llucked  at  the  discovery 
of  H  ])eoj>le  so  depraved  as  to  reserve  its  honors  and  titles  for  the 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  G7 

vicious  and  the  wickeii;  but,  one  looks  in  vain  for  that  daiyth  of 
degrcJation.  which  discards  the  gallant  and  the  daring,  and 
crowns  with  laurels  the- poltroon  and  the  coward.  The  most 
savage  and  tlie  most  brutal  races  of  mankiml,  never,  in  the 
darkest  period  of  their  barbarism,  seem  to  have  been  without 
some  esteem  for  that  virtue  called  personal  bravery;  while  the 
most  enervated  and  degenerate  nations. of  the  luxurious  •  ast, 
have  never  lost,  so  entirely,  the  proper  idea  of  heroism,  as  to 
admire  a  coward  on  account  of  his  cowaidice.  It  was  reserved 
for  the  abolition,  miscegenating  North,  to  exalt  a  man  for  an 
act,  which,  among  all  the.;  other  nations  of  the  world,  past  or 
present,  would  liave  exciteij  unqualified  contempt.  Such  is 
•Sumner,  one  of  the  ilUistrious  representative  types  of  a  nation 
which  darkens  the  earth  with  its  fleets  and  armies;  a  man  with- 
out one  manly  virtue  to 'redeem  the  maglinant  viciousness  of  a 
heart  given  up  to  unholy  desires.  In  the  corridors  of  history, 
where  the  great  and  notorious  have  their  appropriate  niches, 
underneath  the  bust  which  preserves  his  memory,  this  superscrip- 
tion should  be  written  :  "  While  the  infamous  and  the  famou.s 
have  excited  the  wonder  of  their  fellows  by  their  \'irtues  or 
their  vices,  Sumner  was  unknown  to  fame  until  he  had  proved 
himself  a  coward.  Let  him  sleep  in  peace,  he  deserves  not  the 
execrations,  but  the  contenipt  of  mankind." 

Wrn.  H  Seward,  of  New  York,  is,  ]ierhaps,  the  best  represent- 
ative type  of  the  Yankee  nation.  In  his  versatile  and  vast 
composition,  every  curious  and  original  variety  of  Yankee  vil- 
lainy, fimls  some  a<lequate  representation.  There  is  not  a  politi- 
cal fault,  sin  or  crime,  that  was  conceived  by  the  malignant  New 
Englamler,  the  mammon-worshipping  New  Yorker,  or  the  pro- 
fane, mercenar}',  north  westerner,  which  has  not  been  included  in 
his  personal  experienrre.  He  seems  the  source  and  home  of  the 
well  known  as  well  as  the  novel  wickedness  of  the  Yankee 
nation.  The  very  moral  chaos  of  iniquity,  which  fills  the  North, 
resounding  with  the  horried  buz  of  immeasurable,  strange,  and 
novel  dialxdisms,  seems  classified,  systematized,  and  harmoniously 
united,  in  his  sid:)limely  devilish  nature,  distinguished  indi- 
vidual villains  there  are,  who,  perhaps,  surpass  him  in  their  par- 
ticular gifts  to  <lo  evil ;  but,  in  the  scope,  variety,  and  intensity 
of  his  evil  propensities,  he  is  the  most  infernal  Yankee  of  them 
all.  NV  hile.  ]ierhaps.  Grecly  is  the  most  devoted  falsifier  of 
truth,  Checver.  the  wretch,  most  blast. Ii'Mimus,  and  Sumner  the 
most  lnHzen  pinii>  to  a  depraved  )>ub!i.'  taste,  it  is  reserved  for 
Seward  to  uuiie  them  all  in  one,  and,  like  a  horrid  uiasterpi«ca 


OS  THE    TWO    KEBKLLIONs; 

of  deni«nipm,  to  blend  in  one  Mnsjle  nature,  the  opposite  of  everv 
virtue,  and  iIk^  vi«o  of  every  soul.  John  Urown  was  a  violator 
of  the  hiw,  !i  thif.'f,  robber,  and  ai^sassin.  lint,  inasmuch  as,  upon 
occasions,  he  had  some  of  the  impulses  of  a  Christain.  and  al- 
ways some  liabits  whicli  pa=s  for  virtues,  he  was  an  aritjel  of  light 
compared  to  \Vm.  II.  Seward. 

If,  ever  Satan  conde.scoiKled  to  revisit  the  earth  in  person, 
and  live  and  move  as  a  human  l»einj;,  devotinj;  his  whole  time 
and  encrjries  to  the  development  of  one  man's  nature  for  the 
perpetration  of  evil,  he  has  done  it  in  the  case  of  Wui.  H.  S«w- 
ard.  Gredy  atid  his  colaborers  mav  be  said  to  be  pos.sessed  of 
devils;  but,  it  is  questionable  whether  Seward  is  not  the  very 
/><•«'// Id  m  self.  'I  lie  imairjnation  is  appa1le<l  and  shrinks  ba<k 
powerless  in  its  etiort  to  ijrasp  the  complete  wickedness  of  that 
man's  heart.  The  Knylish  laniruafje  pos^es^es  adjectives  without 
nundjer  for  descifldn';  the  rare  and  the  common  phases  of  human 
depravity,  while  its  capacily  for  refined  and  nice  distinction,  for 
viirorous  and  terse  sentences,  for  the  contrast  of  antithesis  and 
the  climax  of  comparison,  is  uneqnaled  by  that  of  anv  otlwer 
tonjifue.  Yet,  we  finidv  believe  that  its  ])owers  must  be  further 
developed  before  an  American  can  do  justice,  in  his  own  *  ;r- 
naculiir,  to  the  chaiacter  of  Wui.  H  Seward.  The  depth.'',  the 
bott-omless  depths,  of  his  auibitious,  bad  heart,  are  inconceivable 
as  infinitv  itself,  aiul  bevond  all  deseription  jiainful  to  attempt  to 
cotiteinplaie.  I  ut,  while  it  is  ditfirult  to  measure  the  <lepth  of 
his  Mialii^naiicv  anil  the  extent  of  his  ambition,  (inasmuch  as 
thev  baffle  all  human  powers  of  computation,)  it  is  not  dillicult  to 
form  a  coriect  estiwiate  t>f  the  streufjlh  and  torce  of  his  mental 
faculties.  In  all  his  wntiiigs  and  speei-hes,  there  are  very  few 
indications  of  intellectual  force.  Thouirh,  .sometimes  gracefully, 
and  alwavs  adroillv  arraun^ed,  one  rarely  discovers  Htiy  evidence 
of  dfplh  of  thought,  or  even  logical  skill,  in  his  cabalistic  sen- 
tences. He  seems  to  value  both  words  and  ideas,  according  to 
their  crt])abilitv  of  producing  uncertain  impressions;  and  his  aim 
seems,  not  so  much  to  produce  a  well-detined  wrorio  iuipression, 
as  to 'cloak  his  meatiing  in  an  impenetrable  veil  of  mystery.  The 
art  of  concealment,  in  writing  and  speaking,  depends  not  so 
ujuch  upon  intwllec'ual  skill  as  it  does  upon  a  total  <lisregard  of 
truth.  Obscurity  is  nnudi  oftetier  the  evidence  of  ignoi-anco  and 
dullness,  than  it  is  of  talent.  And,  yet,  what  in  others  is  at- 
tributed to  the  former,  in  Seward,  is  attributed  to  the  latter.  It 
is  true,  there  is  a  certain  kind  of  obscurity  of  language  which  is 
laure  couiplete  than  others;  but,  still,  it  is  always  easily  found 


ORf  TREASON    UNMASKED.  69 

bv  the  most  onlinar}-  iniiuls,  if  tliey  seok  for  it.  If  Seward  bad 
evo.r  displayed,  in  iiny  of  bis  remarkable  State  papers,  even  a 
little  variety  in  bis  uniforndy  equivocal  or  ambiguous  state- 
ments, be  mifrbt,  witb  some  color  of  propriety,  be  denominated 
artful,  and  tluis  f;ir  intellectual.  But  there  is,  always,  the  same 
simple  want  of  plain  meaninjr  which  necessitates  no  wrong  in- 
ference, but  pist  allows  any  that  <me  may  please  to  make. 

Seward's  power  of  deception,  then,  does  not  reside  in  or  result 
from  intellectual  oiffs,  but  orioinates  in  a  devilish  spirit  of  cun- 
ning that  halts  at  no  falsehood  and  hesitates  at  no  meanness  to 
accomplish  its  purpose  This  should  be  borne  in  mind,  in  order 
that  the  shallow-minded,  but  jMofoundly  cunning,  incarnate 
demon  may  be  jiroperly  understood.  Seward  illustrates  the 
power  of  mere  immoral  force  in  this  fallen  world.  The  im- 
measurable intensity  of  his'|)assions  and  proj>ensities  have  more 
to  do  with  his  indivi<lual  moinentum  tlian  any  extraordinary 
mental  gifts  which  have  been  erroneously  attributed  to  him. 
For,  individual  momenta,  like  those  of  physical  forces,  are  com- 
pounds. As  physical  momenta  are  equivalent  to  the  combined 
results  of  the  velocity  and  the  weight  oi  the  body,  so  individual 
momentum  is  equivalent  to  the  combined  results  of  the  intensity 
of  the  moral  activity  and  the  intellectual  capacity  or  weight. 
60  that,  with  a  given  amount  of  intensity  for  the  moral  propell- 
ing power,  very  little  mind  is  needed  to  make  an  individual  ca- 
pable  of  exercising  an  extraordinary  intluence  among  men.  In 
this  manner,  must  the  want  of  mind  in  Seward- iie  reconciled 
with  the  undoubted  fact  of  the  almost  despotic  influence  which 
be  has,  for  years,  exerted  over  the  northern  people.  He  is  a  rare 
instance  of  an  intellectual  f»igmy  ruling,  with  sovereign's  sway, 
a  nation  run  mad  with  evil  passions,  bv  simply  feeling  and  mani- 
festing in  a  deliberate  wav,  a  greater  intensity  of  the  same  pas- 
sions and  deriving  a  sort  of  inspiration  from  the  exceeding  great 
depths  of  the  badness  of  his  nature.  Tliere  is  nothing  in  his 
acts  or  his  language  or  his  sentiments  to  excite  the  atimiration 
or  interest  of  an  indift'erent  sjwctator.  It  is  only  to  human  mo- 
tives that  his  words  or  conduct  ever  appeal.  You  may  be  amused 
will)  the  hujnor  of  Greely,  and  the  wit  of  Cheever,  you  may  not 
refuse  to  admire  the  vehement  diatribes  of  Hale,  or  the  fine, 
fancy  and  elo<^uent  perorations  of  Sumner;  but,  Seward  is,  ever 
and  always,  the  jdain,  mnltcr-of-fact,  pure,  unadulterated  demon. 
>»  Idle  his  infatnous  coadjutors  are  not  impervious,  at  times,  to 
the  emotions  of  the  beautiful  and  the  grand,  Seward  seems  in- 
capable of  any  but  those  of  gratified  pride  and  succe&sful  villainy. 


70  THE   TWO   REBELLIONS  J 

111  oilier  words,  wliile  the  former  Ronietiines  permit  tli»'ir  ii.nfural 
1  elinju^  to  su|>]ilaiit  the  tlevils  whit  h  iisuallv  possfs."  tliciii,  Seward 
always  sei-ius  filled  with  the  baine  slei-pless,  bloodle.vi,  ht-arlless 
tpirit  of  evil. 


CHAPTER     XV. 

THE    DESIGNS    OF    IHK    KKITULICAXS  —  PRKPARATIONS    FOK    TUB 
EECUKU    KEUEI.LION.        ^ 

The  evidence  of  Colonel  Forhes,' wliich  convicts  the  leadinpj 
republicans  uf  the  North  of  lendiiijr  their  countenance,  if  not 
their  sujiport,  to  an  enterprise  which  aimed  at  the  total  destruc- 
tion of  southt^rn  institutions,  is  fortified  by  other  fat-ts  of  hist<)ry 
)iotorions  at  tliai  Inne.  'J'hese  were  that  the  re)iubli(  an  party 
then  needed  and  desired,  for  j>olitical  reasons,  that  8ectit>nal  bit- 
ternesfi  should  increase ;  in  order  that  they  mij;ht  recruit  their 
ranks  from  the  fickle  and  volatile  masses  of  the  North.  Hence, 
ihev  were  anxious  for  the  occurrence  of  such  an  event  >us  an  hos- 
tile inva-sion  of  a  southern  State.  Subseijuent  events,  too,  when 
the  republicans  jjot  possession  of  the  government  and  shameless- 
ly avowetl  their  irrepressible  hostility  to  the  South,  strenirhthens 
the  presum|)tion  that,  as  far  back  as  the  ailvent  of  tjje  Harper's 
Ferry  invasi(jn,  they  entertained  ideas  of  destruction  towards  the 
Boutliein  peo|tle. 

In  1859,  those  of  the  republican  leaders  who  jurrirled  behind 
the  scenes,  and  who  could  see  wilh  some  distinctness  into  the 
immediate  jiolitical  future,  well  knew  that,  in  order  to  give  vital- 
itv  and  <oherency  to  their  new  formed  jiarty,  something  more 
was  necessary  than  the  mere  array  of  abstratt  dogmas  of  politi- 
<;;d  faith,  howcvei  acceptable  these  might  be  to  the  ]>opular  mind. 
Something  was  needed  tf)  agitate  the  northern  lieaitand  animate 
it  with  one  common  sectional  feeling  like  lliat  which  the  Kansas 
war  had,  for  a  biief  sjiace,  excited.  Nothing  was  so  well  calcu- 
lated to  do  this  as  a  manifestation  of  unreasonable  and  ung<-ne- 
rouB  bitterness  on  the  part  of  the  South.  And  this  wouUI  be 
ppeedilv  brought  about  by  anuhrng  like  a  formidable  aboli  ion 
aitempt  to  exeite  a  servile  ir^surrection. 

These  astute  political  seers,  in  whose  scales  of  calculation  their 


Ott,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  71 

country's  interest  weijjhed  not  a  feather,  were  not  unmindful 
tliat  the  Kiinsas  war  bad  proved  of  invaluable  service  to  them. 
Tliey  liad  heen  oonvinoed  then  that  tlie  god,  at  whose  shrine 
they  \vorshi|)ped,  was  not  to  be  conciliated  by  the  blood  of  lambs 
or  of  bullocks.  The  desolation,  whiidi  pestilence,  famine,  and 
death  brinies,  was  the  ottViini;^  most  sjiateful  at  his  !?lirine,  Tiie 
wails  of  lamentation  and  woe  that  rise  up  from  a  distressed  and 
brereave  1  people,  the  smoke  anil  din  of  the  deadly  internecine 
strife,  the  sickening  fumes  which  ascend  from  the  carcass-strewn 
and  crimson-dyed  battle-field,  was  the  incense  most  acceptable 
at  his  altar.  They  had  seen  how  the  Kansas  war  had  done  what 
the  most  eloquent  harrans^ues  and  able  intellectual  efforts  had 
failed  to  approach.  They  had  seen  how  it  had  stirred  up  the 
inoierates  of  either  section  to  make  the  easy  transition  from 
the  abuse  of  a  party  confined  to  a  particular  local  region  to  the 
bitter  denunciation  of  the  whole  population  of  the  same.  This 
was  the  process,  by  which  life  and  strength  had  been  infused 
into  their  heterogeneous  mass  of  malcontents. 

The  Kansas  war  had  solved  the  mystery,  for  it  revea!e<lthe  art  of 
making  a  sectional  party.  It  was  true  that  the  profitable  experi- 
ment, which  had  enlightened  them,  had  cost  soine  expenditure 
of  men  and  money.  But  what  was  that  con  pared  to  the  value 
of  the  benefit  acquired — the  knowledge  of  the  sure  mode  of  over- 
throwing the  democratic  party  and  domineering  over  the  south- 
ern people.  The  money,  which  had  been  contributed  to  the 
prosec.u:ion  of  the  Kansas  war,  had  been  well  invested,  and  they 
were  anxious  to  repeat  the  speculation.  But  reasons  of  a  selfish 
or  political  nature,  were  -  not  the  sole  causes  of  the  desire 
of  the  republican  leailers  to  kindle  a  servile  war  in  the  South. 
There  were  causes  which  were  imbedded  in  the  strata  of  nor; hern 
society,  and  which,  though  unproclaimed,  both  strengthened  the 
purpose  and  influenced  the  policy  of  the  wily  heads  of  the  re- 
publican party.  While  these  moial  motors,  in  an  invisible  man- 
ner, exerted  no  little  influence  upon  the  mass  of  the  northern 
people,  their  effect  is  more  traceable  in  the  language  and  con- 
duct of  the  leading  minds  and  controlling  intelligences  of  the 
republican  party.  The  apologists  of  tlicse  desperate,  bad  faction- 
ist-s,  should  not  be  permitted  to  attribute  theiu  criminal  c.ondu<-t 
to  an  epedemic,  craving  for  political  power.  For,  sad  as  their 
case  would  be,  should  it  be  admitted  that  they  had  committetl 
the  erpT  of  consenting  to  destroy  their  country  for  the  purpose 
of  overthrowing  their  political  enemies,  the  whole  truth,  when 
revealed,  makes  it  sadder  still.     Something  more,  and  something 


<^  THI    TWO   rebellions; 

far  wrtr^  tlijin   nn   unscrupulous  opposition   to  the  democratic 
}>arty,  actuated  tliem. 


CnAPTpR    XVI. 

1IIE    INFLUENCE    OF    SECTIONAL    IN8TITITION8. 

Tlie  progress  of  civilifation,  under  the  two  different  forms 
of  development  whieli  the  respective  social  orjrnnisms  North 
and  South  afforded,  called  into  being  two  different  classes  of 
educated  minds. 

These,  in  their  views  of  life,  their  taste,  religious  and  polit- 
ical opinions,  their  ideas  of  truth  and  honor  and  their  ideals 
of  happiness,  were  the  very  antijiodeg  of  each  other.  I'pon 
whatever  arena  they  met,  whether  of  politics,  literature,  or  re- 
ligion, they  discovered  the  same  radical  points  of  difference. 
In  those  notions  of  decorum  and  propriety,  which  constitute 
the  laws  of  the  social  circle,  the  difference  was  the  more  con- 
spicuous, becau.'»e  more  frequently  made  manifest.  It  gave  to 
partisan  animosity  a  keener  edge,  and  tended  to  widen  party 
breaches.  In  the  halls  of  Congress,  the  high-toned,  free-spokr n 
poutherner,  might  affiliate,  for  party  purposes,  with  his  political 
brother  of  the  North  ;  but  he  eoijd  liiid  little  pleasure  in  the 
society  of  one  so  totally  different  from  him  in  feeling  and 
liabits.  Palled  from  the  cares  of  a  magnificent  estate,  or  the 
practice  of  a  lucrative  profession,  the  southern  C<mgres.sraan 
exhibited,  in  his  intercourse  with  others,  some  of  that  lordli- 
ness of  manner  which,  as  the  absolute  sovereign  of  a  popnlou.s 
jilantation,  or,  as  the  reigning  orator  i>f  his  district,  he  had 
gradually  ac(|uired.  Into  the  halls  of  Congress  he  carried  the 
frankness  of  manner,  the  confidence  in  his  fellow-man,  and  the 
love  of  truth  and  honor,  that  he  had  learned  from  his  parents.  • 
Usually,  with  an  abundance  of  means  at  his  dispcisal,  ho  was 
ns  liberal  as  he  >^s  kind-hearted,  and  paid  little  attention  to 
the  lobby  operations  of  the  venal  and  unprincipled. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  northern  (N)ngressman  was,  generally, 
some  self-CfluQated,  shrewd,  calculating,  "  finder-out  of  occa- 
sions," who,  while  yet  a  b<iy,  had  (pialfcil  a  love  of  political 
fame  from  the  annual  stream  of  fourth  of  .July  orations  which 


oil,   TREASON   UNMASKED.  73 

periodically  ^oded  his  section.  Occasionally,  he  was  a  sod  of 
some  distinguished  divine  or  lawyer,  and  had  made  politics  his 
profession.  But,  more  frequently,  he  was  some  hypocritical, 
bawling  radicalist,  whom  the  love  of  plunder  and  power  had 
seduced  from  his-  shop  to  the  uncertain  arena  of  politics.  If 
he  was  from  New  PiUgland,  he  was,  probably,  a  sort  of  Puritan 
Republican,  with  a  humanitarian  tinge;  a  fellow  who  had  prob- 
ably tried  preaching  before  he  took  to  stump-speaking,  and 
whose  chief  occupation  was  to  expound  the  meaning  of  the 
declaration  of  independence  and  sell  his  vote  to  the  highest 
bidder.  If  he  was.from  the  middle  States,  he  was  occasionally 
a  man  of  talent  and  wealth,  but,  more  generally,  the  represent- 
ative i)f  some  commercial  or  manufacturing  interest,  and,  not 
un frequently,  a  radicalist  of  the  New  England  type. 

From  the  northwestern  States  came  the  most  interesting 
candidates  for  political  greatness.  There,  the  avenues  to  fame 
were  the  bar-rooms,  the  tailor-shops,  and  country  stores.  There 
was  more  talent  and. less  hypocrisy  among  the  politicians  of  the 
northwest  than  among  those  of  the  middle  and  eastern  States. 
But,  it  is  questionable  whether  vice,  without  the  habiliments 
of  virtue,  as  it  appeared  in  the  north  westerner,  was  not  more  dis- 
gusting than  when  discovered  beneath  the  Puritan  cloak  of 
hypocrisy.  Their  obscene  ribaldry,  their  vulgar  jokes,  and 
their  open  repudiation  of  the  obligations  of  decency  and  hon- . 
esty,  was  a  sort  of  moral  outlawry  that  denied  the  very  dignity 
and  existence  of  virtue.  The  Puritans,  by  their  hypocrisy, 
acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  virtue  ;  but  tho  besotted  and 
brazen  rowdies  of  the  northwest,  by  their  open  contempt  for 
propriety  and  good  character,  aimed  at  the  very  legitimacy 
of  the  sovereignty  of  virtue  in  human  esteem. 

Now,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  the  chivalrous,  well-bred, 
southerner,  coming  in  contact  with  these  rowdies,  fanatics,  and 
mercenaries  of  the  North,  could  find  anything  in  them  to  ad- 
mire or  to  love.  Ilk  notions  of  the  usages  among  gentlemen 
were,  constantly,  shocked  by  tho  evidences  of  their  in-brcd 
vulgarity  or  open  violations  of  the  most  common  rules  of  courtesy. 
To  his  utter  astonishment,  he  would  hear  men  discourse  most 
feelingly  about  the  obligations  of  conscience  and,  not  long  after, 
boast  of  some  successful  piece  of  villainy.  His  sense  of  honor 
was  constantly  pained  and  his  self-respect  insulted  by  most 
friendly  and  familiar  intimations  of  fine  chances  to  steal. 
Their  ill-breeding  annoyed  and  bored  him,  their  vulgar  obscen- 
ity di.sgn^tcd  him,  and  their  utter  wa;it  of  honor  and  honesty 


:  i 


lilL    X\TO    KtiitLLluXS; 


excited  his  most  profound  contempt.  Ilcuec,  as  time  ripened 
the  fruits  of  the  two  opposite  oipmisms,  the  aversion  of  the 
southerner  for  the  Yankee  became  more  and  uiorc  intense,  and 
was  more  and  more  exhibited  in  the  national  halls  of  leirisla- 
liun.  The  contempt  of  the  southerner  was  re.scnted  wiUt  well- 
studied  phrases  of  bitterness,  and  had  the  Yankee  admitted 
the  Iciritimacy  ol"  the  coilc  duollo,  and  answered  for  his  slan- 
ders (jn  tlio  lioUl,  a  sort  of  partizan  war  miyht  have  commenced 
about  Washingtun  sometime  before  the  masses  became  generally 
engaged.  But  the  Yankees  refused  the  arbitrament  of  the 
sword,  wliich,  if  allowed,  would,  perhaps, "Jiave  secured  some 
observance  of  the  rules  of  senatorial  courtesy,  if  it  had  not 
postponed  the  general  conflict.  Having  thus,  by  their  pol- 
troonery, limited  all  modes  of  redress  for  the  most  studied  in- 
sults to  the  wouudings  which  the  tongue  and  the  pen  could  in- 
flict, a  perfect  war  of  words  was  inaugurated  in  Congress. 
Elaborate  sarcasms,  withering  invectives,  metaphors  of  deuun- 
ciati«)n,  and  most  sonorous  billing.^gate,  filled  the  legislative 
chambers  of  the  Great  Republic.  The  northerner  hated  the 
Bouthcrner  because  he  was  liaughty  and  supercilious,  and  be- 
cause he  assumed  a  .social  superiority  that  no  amount  of  Yankee 
insolence  could  disturb.  The  .southerner  despised  the  north- 
erner because  he  was  stingy,  low-bred,  fal.-^o-tougcd,  and  cow- 
ardly. 


CIIAI'TEK    XVII. 

THE    SOCIAL    CONQIEST    OF   THE    NOKTII. 

It  was  in  tho.«io  arenas,  where  female  chaHipions  enter  the 
list.<»,  that  the  social  contest  between  the  two  sections  was  con- 
ducted with  the  most  unrelentintr  bitterness.  Party  afliiiations 
and  |iartv  reasons,  had  their  influence  in  removin^r  the  barriers 
which  time  had  erecteil  between  the  male  repres»'ntativ«!s  of  iho 
opposite  civilizations.  Hut  the  women  neither  appreciated  nor 
«  ared  for  these.  7Viei/  obeyed  the  instin<-ts  and  aspirations  of 
tlieir  natures,  with  little  regard  to  political  consetpiences.  In 
the  crowded  rece|)ti"n  rooms  of  the  presidt-niial  niJinsion,  met 
two  Social  currents,  that  had  as  litilo  allinity  for  each  other  as 
oil  HU(\  water.  There,  was  the  (ieiica!ely-l)rc(i  soul  hem  woman, 
with  u  biilliuncy  of  hue  «iid  compL^iou,  aud  a  gratefuluess  of 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  <0 

person  that  reminded  one  of  those  glorious  flowers  of  beauty 
whirli  blossom  and  wave  in  the  rich  sunlight  of  her  native  land. 
With  a  cliarniing  naivete  of  manner  that  silenced  even  malice, 
a  perpetual  sprigHtliness  that  purchased  everyone's  good  will, 
and  an  inaccessible  gentlen(=ss  which  subdued  audacity  and  ex- 
cited the  noblest  sentiments  in  the  masculine  nature,  she  shed  a 
soft  and  golden  radian  e  over  the  presidential  circle,  where  she 
reigned  with  regal  sway.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  studied  action, 
thoughtful  face,  and  artful  tongue  of  the  liosfon  "belle,  dis- 
puted her  sovereignty.  In  vain  did  New  York  enter  the  lists, 
bedizzened  and  enveloped  in  silk  and  diamonds,  or  the  energetic, 
rosy,  dasliing  western  girl,  contend  with  almost  pugilistic  skill. 
The  fair  daughter  of  the  South  had  but  to  smile  and  coinmand, 
and  away  went  the  obsequious  votaries  of  the  northern  child  of 
art.  The  splendor  of  wealth,  the  shafts  of  art  pointed  with  the 
bitterness  of  an  envious  heart,  ihe  lustre  of  official  position,  and 
those  disparaging  arguments,  which  none  but  a  metaphysical 
female  mind  can  invent,  might  be  all  arrayed  on  the  side  of  the 
North  ;  but,  woman's  divinest  weapons,  modesty  and  gentleness 
adorning  the  eloquence  of  a  rich  fancy  and  a  tender  heart,  main- 
tained the  supremacy  of  the  southern  ladies  against  all  op- 
position. •  For  yeais  was  the  contest  carried  on;  and,  at  the  end 
of  each  campaign,  the  result  was  he  same,  at  last,  it  was  no 
longer  a  question  of  dispute,  but  was  treated  as  a  matter  settled 
for  history;  and  the  coiemporant-ous  writers  of  the  age  recorded 
that  southern  women  reigned  supreme  in  the  national  capital. 
The  capital  having  lie^^n  once  "occupied  and  possessed,"  it  was 
quite  easy  to  make  other  conquests.  So,  armed  with  the  prestige 
of  this  victory,  the  principal  northern  cities  and  watering  places, 
became  the  next  ohjects  of  attflck;  and  it  was  not  long  before 
they  suffered  a  similar  fate.  The  spacious  mansions  of  Phila- 
delphia and  gorgeous  palaces  of  New  York,  as  well  as  the  fretted 
halls  of  S.iratoga  and  Cajie  May,  soon  rang  witlj  the  praises  of 
southern  breeding  and  southern  beauty;  and  the  admiring  mul- 
titude, whi.  h  had  for  so  long  been  acciistomed  to  kneel  in  flat- 
tering homage  at  the  feet  of  some  charming  angel  of  Chesnut 
street  or  superli  darling  of  Fifth  Avenue,  now,  "doated  on  an 
obsequious  bondage,"  to  a  lovely  daughter  of  the  South.  Thus 
was  city  after  city  and  Btronghold  after  stronghold  taken,  until 
Boston  herself,  the  self-styled  Athens  of  America,  a  conden)ned 
fjiot  that  nature  hail  n^ver  loved  and  had  long  before  abandoned, 
was  indebted,  (or  her  independence,  solely  to  the  contempt  of  the 


76  THE    TWO    rebellion/; 

This  social  conquest  of  llie  nation,  tliou^Ii  di  rected  and  conducted 
by  the  women  of  the  South,  was  due,  in  some  meiisure,  to  the 
character  and  manners  of  soutlieru  gentlemen.  Their  noble  car- 
riage and  knightly  mieii,  wereadQined  with  alHhe  graces  of  chivaU 
ly.  Tanglit  from  infancy  to  regard  women  as  naturally  entitled  to 
their  highest  esteem  and  tenderest  consideration,  their  gallantry 
liaci  something  of  the  deva!e<l  and  unselfish  character  of  »lisin- 
terested  devotion.  The  recipient  of  their  atti^aitions  wjis  not  the 
mere  object  of  a  selfish  passion,  but  the  resting  place  of  the 
purest  and  noblest  emotions  of  wliich  the  heart  is  c.a|table.  Hence, 
it  is  not  strange  that  tiiese  manly  traits,  which  the  most  uncivil- 
ized female  appreciates,  should  lend  southern  gentlemen  a  fasci- 
nation in  the  eyes  of  northern  women,  that  threw  far  in  the 
shade  the  artificial  mannerism  and  affected  hauteur  of  northern 
men.  That])oliHli  of  address  and  nianner,  which  a  well  cultivated 
mind  can  bestow",  w;is  not  wanting  among  northern  men.  They 
excelled  in  graceful  conversational  periods,  and  ornamented  their 
collo(juial  sentences  witli  striking  antitheses  and  elaborately  pre- 
pared impromptu  flashes  of  wit.  Th^ir  bon  mots  were  as  stuijied 
as  their  speeches,  and  their  still,  formal  manners,  only  dirterod 
according  to  the  theory  of  the  particular  tutelary  Puritan  who 
bad  mouldeil  their  tastes  and  opinions.  They  were  prepared  for 
the  ])arIor  and  the  drawing  room  preci.'^elv  as  they  were  prepared 
fur  tiieir  callings,  at  the  standard  boarding  schools  and  colleges. 
The  whole  of  education  with  them,  was  confined  to  the  develop- 
ment and  discipline  of  the  mental  faculti(is  and  muscles.  They 
were  prepared  for  the  orjleal  of  society,  by  a  sy.stem  of  lessons  ai^ 
rehearsals,  just  as  the  athlete  learns  in  the  gymnasium  the  feats 
of  strength  and  skill,  which  are  to  electrify  the  gazing  multitude 
of  the  circus.  Those  qualities  of  the  soul  which  nothing  but  an 
education  of  the  heart  can  give,  they  neither  posse.ssed  nor  un- 
derstood. Indeed,  the  northern  peopk,  as  a  nation,"  have,  for  the 
last  forty  years,  ignored  the  existence  of  human  impulses  and  the 
necessity  of  educating  the  human  heart.  Through  the  imjirove- 
meiit  of  the  mind  and  the  strengthening  and  development  of 
the  faculties  was  all  good  to  be  attained.  Many  of  their  theo- 
logical and  most  of  their  philosophical  writers  idolized  reason 
as  the  governing  agent  in  the  world,  and,  in  their  opinion,  the 
])roniised  milennium  is  nothing  more  than  another  name  for  a 
jieriod  when  human  rea.son,  gathering  strength  by  acting  in  con- 
<-(>rd,  shall,  with  its  collective  power,  subdue  all  the  earth  to  do 
right. 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  t  i 

CHAPTEPt    XVIII. 

AFFINTTIKS    AND    ANTIPATHIKS. 

Thus,  it  is  tliat  the  elite  of  the  northern  masses,  thoiiirli  not 
want-ing  in  th;it  rt*finenient  of  tlie  mind  which  study  imparts, 
are  yet  wofnlly  deficient  in  those  winning,  graceful  traits  of 
character  whirh  nature,  when  not  too  much  cramped,  will  put 
forth  among  auv  peo])le.  Among  the  bast  of  them,  their  social 
excellences  only  illustrate  the  truth,  that  art  may  adorn  and 
develop,  but  can  never  create.  The  finest  female  specimens  of 
their  system,  like  aitificial  flowers,  are  be«ntiful  to  behold  at  a 
distance;  but  a  closer  acquaintance  discovers  that  they  havo 
neither  the  delicious  fragrance,  nor  the  delicate  tints  of  uature. 
Thus,  from  one  cause  and  another,  it  came  to  happen  that  the 
northern  women  preferred  southern  men  to  their  own  indigenous 
beaux,  while  the  northern  hien  exhibited,  on  all  occasions,  a 
hopeless  but  sincere  {)reference  for  southern  women  over  tli6 
highly  accomplished  females  of  their  own  section.  And,  when, 
in  addition  to  this  strange  state  of  affairs,  it  is  borne  in  mind 
that  the  southern  men  and  womeu  bate  and  despise,  respective!}", 
(he  males  and  femares,of  the  North,  there  w"ilf  no  longer  exist 
a  profound  wonder  why  the  northern  people  are  making  incredi- 
Vile  exertions  to  pereuade,  by  fire  and  sword,  the  southern  people 
to  live  once  more  in  peace  and  harmony  with  them.  • 

Thus  It  IS  that  tiiey  hate  us  and  they  love  us  too,  while  the 
history  of  the  ^n-esent  war  too  well  sliows  that  something  more 
fhan  just  resentment  to  aggression  inflames  the  soldiers  of  the 
South.  Ours  is  a  h.ite  in  which  contempt  is  the  master  feeling; 
an  aversion  unconquerable,  a  feeling  of  loathing  like  that  which 
the  human  family  feejsfor  reptiles.  Nothing  better  illustrates  this 
strange  states  of  thirigs,  where  esteem  and  respect  mingle  with 
feelings  of  malignant  hatred,  on  one  side,  and  the  most  loath- 
ing contempt  aggravates  a  just  resentment  on  the  other,  than 
the  manner  in  which  the  women  of  either  section  treat -the  in- 
vading foe.  When  a  southern  town  is  entered  by  a  northern 
army,  it  is  like  mandiing  into  a  city  of  the  dead.  Tlie  doors 
are  closed,  the  blinds  down,  and  the  streets  vacant.  Perhaps, 
liere  and  there,  a  solitary  traitor,  decked  out  in  lioliday  attire, 
mingles  with  the  occasional*  groups  of  curious  Africans,  who 
show  their  ivories  at  the  imexpected  familiar  salutations  of  tlie 
uiiscegenating  Yankees.     From  behind  the  incompletely  closed 


"^  IIIK    TWO    RtiJELLIONS  ; 

\\iinlo\vsliu(trrs,  the  southern  women  sentinel  their  liousps  and 
watrh  the  sfoallhy  foe.  If  entrance  is  furcetl  by  any  of  the 
soMiers,  or  the  serni-oronteel  ofthers,  and  bread  and  meat  de- 
manded, tliroiirrli  fear,  or  perhaps  a  habit  of  rharitv,  it  is  not  re- 
fused. Tlie  Ki'iks  of  scorn  and  contempt,  whidi  {jenerally  ac- 
company tlie  {rift,  do  not,  however,  b^anish  the  V.inkee  apetite.  A 
long  career  of  swindlinij  at  home  or  phmdvr  in  tiie  Soiith.  has 
matle  their  biutal  natures  quite  invulnerable  to  such  delicate 
inodes  of  warfare.  Tlie  f«!ar  of  bodilv  harm  or  pecuniary  loss, 
alone  deters  them  from  the  most  intamous  performances.  '  After 
gratityinp  the  cravinofs  of  hun^jer,  they  j;enoral!v  begin  to  cast 
their  eyes  around  to  see  what  valuables  they  can  steal.  If  they 
cannot  find  any  silver,  they  will  condescend  to  purloin  any  little 
jjortable  article  which  (-an  be  secretly  approj)riated.  For,  strange 
to  say,  although  they  can  do  as  they  please,  yet,  su>-h  is  the  force 
of  habit,  they  .seldom  lay  violent  hands  on  things,  in  presence  of 
any  of  the  females;  but,  by  all  those  various  wavs  known  only 
to  Yankee.s,  manage  to  sleal  them,  when  the  backs  of  the  owners 
are  turned.  Sometime.s,  they  resort  to  threats^  but  these  are 
disregarded.  Their  promises  are  alike  unavailing  to  olitain 
either  confidence  or  conciliatory  treatment  from  the  women  of 
tlie  South.  Whether  they  appear  in  their  natural  character  of 
professronal  pirafces,  or  as  men  of  ordinary  humanity  and  honesty, 
they  hear  the  same  language  of  deffance  and  contempt. 
Neither  the  apprehension  of  injury  to  property  or  of  violence  of 
any  sort,  can  compel  the  ])roud  spirits  of  the  women  of  the  South 
to  use  the  forms  of  ordinary  civilly  to  the  despised  invader, 
Tiiey  seem  to  have  a  consciousness  of  a  prote<'ting  power  to 
their  person  in  their  infinite  moral  superiority,  while  they  will- 
not,  for  the  sake  of  tlieir  propeitv,  t.each  their  tongues  to  utter 
words  of  kindness  to  those  who,  in  tiieir  eves,  are  the  embodi- 
ment of  all  that  is  unmanly,  mean,  and  des]>icablo. 

When  a  southern  army  enters  a  northern  town,  the  reception 
is  as  different  as  it  is  characteristic.  The  Yankee  population, 
with  the  usual  curiosity  and  low  taste  of  "the  vulgar,  swarm  in 
the  streets,  arraye*!  in  their  Sunday  finery.  Their  is  no  friendli- 
ness in  their  greeting,  but  there  h  a  servility  in  their  manner, 
when  conversing  with  the  southerner,  that  only  con(iuered  spirits 
m.nnifest.  All  seem  subjugated,  from  llie  fear  of  pecuniary  loss. 
Even  the  women,  who  are  encouraged  to  s|)eak  their  minds  by 
the  polite  and  knightly  southern  soldier,  are  cringing  and  prayer- 
ful, whenever  they  can  muster  up  auflicienl  courage  to  speak. 
iutiuKile  the  sligLlest  wish,  aud  they  run  in  Lusto  to  gratify  it^ 


OR,  TREASON   UNMASKED.  79 

Tlieir  desire  to  please  seems  only  limited  by  the  extent  of  the  pe- 
cuniary sacritire  required.  Ask  them  their  political  sentiments, 
and,  while  some  will  evade  the  question,  maTiy  will  prcjfess  a,sort 
of  Cliiistian  neutrality,  and  gently  insinuate  that,  if  they  were 
to  make  a  ])reference,  they  would  (-hoose  the  side  of  the 
"secesh."  It  is  hard  to  tell  "whether  such  a  signal  want  of  spirit 
is  due  to  craven  fear  alone,  or  whether  they  are  not  really 
charmed  by  the  gallantry  and  courtesj^  the  southerners. 


CUAPTER    XIX. 

THE    SEIZURE    OF    HARPEu's    FERRY    DY    THE    REBELS. 

I  have  thus  endeavored  to  show  the  part  that  social  causes 
have  played  in  engendering  sectional  bitterness  between  the 
North  and  the  South  ;  and  how,  as  early  as  1859,  the  leaders  of 
the  reiHil>lican  party,  animated  with  deadly  hostility  to  the  South, 
contemplated,  with  criminal  indifference,  the  ruin  of  their  coun- 
try, as  a  means  of  gratifying  their  ambition  and  hate.  We  must 
now  return  to  Forbes,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  had  in  vain  endeavored 
to  get  some  one  of  the  leading  republicans  to  denounce  Brown 
and  expose  the  gigantic  treason  of  the  abolitionists,  lie  had, 
likewise,  failed  to  persuade  his  old^'eniployers  to  substitute  for 
Brown'.s  mad  plan  his  oiiore  practicable  scheme  of  emancipation. 

From  this  time,  Forbes  disappears  from  the  scene,  unless  it 
was  he  who  wrote  the  anonymous  letter  to  Secretary  Floyd,  a 
short  time  before  the  memorable  16th  October,  informing  him 
of  Brown's  designs.  This  timely  warning  was  disregarded  by 
Mr.  Flo\  d,  who  was  tlien  Secretary  of  War.  Its  only  importance 
consists  in  the  fact  that  it  shows  how  binding  inusthave  been  the 
oaths  of  the  conspirators  and  how  intense  the  hate  of  the  confi- 
dential politicians,  when  only  one  man  was  found,  among  them 
all,  to  forewarn  the  government  even  anonymously. 

Brown,  in  the  meantime,  had  not  yet  matured  his  plans, 
Ilearini;  of  their  probable  exposnre,  through  the  treachery  of 
Forbes,  ho  hurried  up  the  grand  consumation.  (fathering  his 
conlVd-M-atos  at  the  Kennedy  fiirm,  in  Maryland,  he  prepared  his 
army  for  ai-tion.  » 

At  balf.past  ten  o'clock,  Sunday  night,  l<th  October,  1859, 


80  THE    TWO    nEBELLIONS; 

the  Potomac  was  crossed,  and  the  advance  cfnard  of  tlie  abolition 
army  invaded  the  sovereicfnty  of  Virginia.  Proceedintf  with  mili- 
tary method,  they  seized,  first,  the  watchman  guarding  the  bridge, 
and,  posting  pickets  at  certain  pointv^,  occui»ied  the  ars^enal  and 
armory  building.  Then,  no  doubt,  in  accordance  with  a  previ- 
ously concerted  plan,  Cook  went  out  in  command  of  a  party  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  black  recruits  from  the  adjoining  estates 
of  slaveholders.  He  iil^pioceeded  to  Mr.  Lewis  Washington's, 
He  had  been  hospitably  entertained  b}"^  this  gentlemsn  and 
honored  with  a  look  at  some  of  liis  very  cherished  valuable 
family  relics.  Cook,  after  securing  the  slaves  and  horse.s,  did  not, 
in  the  agitation  of  the  occasion,  forget  the  sacre<l  familv  relics  ; 
but,  appropriating  them,  witii  the  ratch.  of  his  former  genial 
hosf,  took  Mr.  Washington  and  his  movables,  and  carried  them 
otf  in  the  wagons  which  he  had  ])ressed  for  the  service  of  Ma 
government.  Proceeding  with  his  train,  he  acted  in  a  similar 
manner  at  several  other  houses.  Having  accumulated,  in  this 
■way,  valuable  hostages  in  the  persons  of  the  prominent  citizens 
whom  he  captured,  and  quite  a  company  of  blacks,  he  returned 
in  triumph,  under  the  cover  of  night,  to  the  Ferry.  Upon  reach- 
ing that  place.  Cook  sent  most  of  his  prisoners  and  recruits  to 
Brown,  while  he  went,  with  his  plunder,  to  Kennedy's  house. 

From  this  place.  Cook  did  not  return  in  time  to  reach  Brown 
before  the  fighting  commenced,  and  there  is  every  re.ason  to  be- 
lieve, from  subsequent  developments,  that  he  never  intended  to 
return. 

In  the  meantime.  Brown  Whd  inaugurated  his  reign,  as  military 
dictator  aud  supreme  disposer  of  all  things  in  America,  in  the 
armory  buildings.  His  pickets,  fruiii  time  to  time,  arrested  and 
brought  into  his  august  presence  all  who,  from  motives  of  curj» 
osity  or  otherwise,  had  veutui-ed  within  his  military  lines. 
These  he  greeted  with  the  imperial  condescension  which  a  spider 
might  bo  supposed  to  extend  to  an  unfortunate  fly  that  had 
strayed  within  Ids  lines.  Informing  them  that  they  were  in 
no  danger,  he  turned- them  ovci  to  some  of  his  black  janizaries. 
Humors  of  these  things,  and  much  more,  went  flving  through  the 
air.  Each  one  desired  to  see  for  himself.  And  thus,  indignant 
}yid  astonished  oflicials  and  distiiiguislied  men  of  the  town  were 
spirited  away,  seriatim,  as  they  stumbled  in  the  darkness  upon 
Brown's  pickets.  In  a  short  time,  quite  a  number  of  these  re- 
spectable men,  involuntarily,  assembled  in.  one  of  thfl  armory 
buildings,  and  founJ  their  sole  consolation  in  their  jnutual.mise- 
vy.     Halted  in  their  high  place  of  aqthority,  rudely  pasted  otf 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  81 

into  tlie  presence  of  a  lioary-headed,  i^rave  looking,  severe  old 
man,  and  dismissed  by  the  same  terrible  fellow  to  the  comfort- 
less precincts  of  a  dark  dungeon,  was  ^fate  for  which  their  good 
easy  souls  were  unprepared,  and  they  trembled  for  the  future. 
Putting  them  all  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  the  armory  building, 
Brown  placed  a  negro  sentinel  over  them,  with  instructions,  to 
"guard  ihem  well."  This  fellow,  like  others  when  "clothed  in 
a  little  biief  authority,"  commenced  his  "fantastic  tricks"  by 
blandishing  the  deadly  looking  spear  which  Brown  had  placed 
in  his  hands,  and  threatened  the  horror-stricken  officials  with 
condign  punishment,  if  they  Uared  to  poke  their  heads  out  of 
the  windows,  or  in  any  other  way  act  contrary  to  orders. 

This  entiance  of  negio  actors  on  the  stage  was  the  change  of 
scene  that  was  the  most  unexpected  and  horrible.  It  was  strange 
and  terrible  enough  to  be  kidnapped,  robbed,  and  insulted,  but 
to  have  the  custody  of  your  person  put  into  the  hands  of  one  of 
a  despised  and  brutal  race  was  an  indignity  which  passed  all  con- 
cejition. 

Brown,  however,  was,  by  no  means,  intimidated  or  discom- 
posed by  tlie  horror  and  indignation  which  his  conduct  excited. 
The  notion  that  he  was  dealing  with  men  caught  in  the  act  of 
capital  crime  seemed  to  "intluence  him  entirely,  and  he  paid  no 
more  attention  to  their  protests  and  exclamations  of  surprise  than 
an  executioner  does  to  the  shrieks  of  the  condemned  culprit. 

Notwithstanding  the  pressing  need  of  the  exercise  of  all  his 
faculties  to  remove  the  military  difficulties  of  his  situation,"^*^ 
yet  found  time  to  bestow  upon  his  ignorant  and  benighted  cap- 
tives some  of  the  light  of  his  civilization.  Laying  aside,  for  a 
brief  space,  the  iron  sternness  of  tlie  military  leader,  he  donned 
his  apostolic  character;  and,  by  the  dim  starlight  that  peeped 
through  the  windows,  read  the  slaveholders  a  moral  lecture  upon 
the  sinfulness  of  their  criminal  existence.  However  indisposed 
lliey  were  to  receive  the  truth,  with  their  nn'wds  thronged  with 
painful  apprehensions,  they  listened,  with  silent  respect,  evidently- 
willing  to  admit  the  truth  of  any  proposition  that  did  not  threaten 
their  personal  safety. 

While  endeavoring  to  reconcile  his  white  prisoners  to  the  fate 
whicli  their  unpardonable  crimes  deserved,  he  did  notTorget  to 
dispense  a  liberal  allowance  of  the  truth  to  his  astonished  black 
recruits.  These  he  told  that  the  priceless  boon  of  liberty  was 
theirs  for  the  asking — they  had  but  to  reach  forth  their  hands 
to  take  it.  lie  told  them  how  they,  descended,  in  all  probabili- 
ty, from  high  toned  jtrinces  of  African  blood,  had  for  successive 


82        ■  THE   TWO   REBELLIONS  J 

generations  bft'  n  cnislied  boneath  flie  iron  lieel  of  a  merciless 
despotism  ;  and  liad.at  last,  found  a  liborator  in  liini.  He  dwelt* 
most  eloquently, npon  tli*  rich  rewards  that  awaited  a  bold  stroke; 
and,  roiniding  his  discourse  with  one  of  the  usual  perorations 
about  the  horrors  of  slavery  and  the  felicities  of  freedom,  he  put 
into  their  trembling  hands  the  terrible  looking  weapon  which, 
with  much  liellish  ingenuity,  1*6  had  contrived.  They  received 
the  instnimenis  of  iiisuriection  with  open  mouths  and  eyes  wild 
with  fright.  Confounded  and  terror-stricken  by  the  authorita- 
tive fierceness  of  Brown,  they  held  them  in  their  hands  until  hia 
back  was  turned,  and  then  dropped  them  ;  ajtparently,  tearful  lest 
the  things  might  go  olf.  Their  conduct  upon  this  occasion  was 
but  in  accordance  with  that  of  all  the  tiegro  allies  whom  the  Fede- 
rals have  enlisted  in  their  service  during  this  war.  Thev  acted  the 
part  of  mere  passive  agents,  submitting  to  whoever,  for  the  time 
being,  had  authority,  but  showing  an  abiding  sense  of  the  supe- 
riority of  the  white  race,  and  an  inability  to  comjirehend  how 
their  being  in  a  state  of  slavery  was  either  improper  or  degrad- 
ing. They  exhibited  then,  as  they  have  done  since,  upon  similar 
occasions,  an  eageiness  for  a  life  of  indolence  and  sloth,  and  a 
susceptibility  of  being  wrought  upon  by  artful  misrepresentation 
to  such  a  degree  that  they  cherished,  after  some  sclioolinjTfainong 
the  Yankees,  not  unfrequently,  a  deadly  animosity  towards  tlieir 
masters.  But  they  showed  no  desire  for  fieedom,  for  the  sake  of 
the  franchises  of  a  freeman.  They  were  incapable  of  appreciat- 
Tng  those  sentiments  of  liberty  which  aiiimate  the  (Jauchsan 
race.  They  only  desired  the  jtrivileges  of  unrestrained  license  ; 
and,  to  gain  these,  they  were  willing  to  run  no  peisonal  risks. 

While  Brown  was  engaged  in  improving  the  moral  con  ition 
of  his  prisoners  and  proclabning  his  plans  for  exalting  tlie  black 
race,  fate,  with  singular  caprice,  but  with  great  propriety,  was 
telling  aTU)ther  story  to  an  audience  that  some  of  his  fo  lowers 
bad  discovered. 

Having  captured  one  of  the  wat<hmen  on  the  bridge,  when 
the  one  who  w;is  to  relieve  him  made  his  ap]iearance,  tliey 
challenged  hin).  lie,  ap])rehen^ive  of  harn),  at  once  retre;ted 
without  obeying  their  command  fo  stand.  Finding  words  of  no 
avail,  the  outlaws  liied  upon  the  fugitive,  and  brought  hin)  to  the 
ground.  Upon  examining  their  victim,  they  discovered  tlmt  lie 
was  a  mulatto  and  mortally  woiyideii,  'Ijuis,  the  first  victim 
who  fell  m  the  abolition  war  was  a  member  of  th.it  race,  wliose 
emancipation,  in  ti^e  eyes  of  Europe,  will  be  the  only  pioiit  that 


Oil,   THEASCV    UNMASKED.  83 

mankind  will  reap  fiom  the  bloody  fields  of  intestine  slaughter 
in   America. 

About  three  o'clock  i»i  the  morniuir,  the  Baltimore  train  ar- 
rived. This  WHS  halted  tor  two  or  three  iiours,  and,  finally,  after 
much  expostulation,  allowed  to  pass  on.  Wliat  Brown'>  design 
■was  in  stopping  this,  tiie  sequel  did  not  sliow  ;  though  he  ever 
afterwards  considfred  that  permitting  it  to  pass  on  was  the  cardi- 
nal error  of  his  Harper's  Ferry  campaign. ,  He  took  oicasioh, 
however,  during  the  arrest  of  the  train,  to  utter  a  tew  motfU 
truths  to  the  passengers  and  to  assure  them  that,  if  they  only 
knew  his  past  history,  tliey  would  not  be  astonished  at  what  they 
saw.  The  p.issengers,  of  course,  were  eager  to  spiead  the  story 
of  their  incredible"  expeiience  ;  and,  as  they  went  along  the  road, 
the  country  was  electrified  with  the  most  contradictory  Hnd  won- 
derful accounts  of  an  inexplii  able  event.  According  to  the  de- 
gree of  their  flight,  the  proportions  of  the  atiair  were  conceived, 
and,  from  out  ot  -the  few  villainous-looking  .scoundrels  that  had 
.been  seen  hovering  around  the  train,  their  heated  iuiaginations 
foriiied  a  formidable  revolutionary  ann\ .  As  the  rumors  passed 
froui  tongue  to  tongue,  the  usual  liberties  were  taken,  and,  by 
the  tim«  they  reaihed  the  most  distant  and  secluded  spot  of  the 
count  y,  the  novelty  and  reported  ningnitude  of  the  event  created 
the  most  intense  excitement. 

Daylight  was  approaching,  and  still  the  citizens  of  the  Ferry, 
who,  from  behind  closed  shutters,  or  peering  from  distant  win- 
dows, were  whispering  their  comruon  apprehensions,  had  uot 
yet  formed  a  correct  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  outbreak.  Those 
who  had  been  near  enough  to  sec  and  to  hear,  without  falling 
into  the  clutches  of  the  enemy,  gave  the  most  marvelous  ac- 
counts of  his  ferocity  and  his  strength.  Some  eaid  that  they 
had  seen  moving  masses  of  blacks  and  whites,  and  that  their 
number  was  momentarily  increasing.  Some  said  that  they  were 
all  mufJled  and  dressed  in  singular-looking  uniforms  that  hung 
loose  on  their  immense  bodies,  and  that  they  moved  about  as 
noiseless  as  spirits.  Various  were  the  conjectures  of  the  citi- 
zens to  reach  a  solution  of  the  mystery.  The  idea  that  it  was 
an  attempt  at  robbery  was  discountenanced  by  their  confining 
themselves  to  the  armory  and  arsenal.  The  mystery  passed 
explanation.  One  fact,  however,  was  patent  and  imperative. 
That  was,  that  the  outlaws,  whoever  they  were,  had  taken  poa- 
se.'«sinji  of  the  jmblic  bui!din<;s  and  many  of  the  citizens,  and 
did  m.i  hesitate  tn  fire  at  every  (uio  who  di^'nheycd  them.  Pub- 
lic duty  demauded  ihut  some  eH'urt  sliuuld  be  made  to  dislodge 


y 
8i  fHE    TWO    REBELLIONS} 

them.  So,  the  citizens,  besides  those  who  on  their  own  hook  kepi 
up  a  guerrilla  fire  upon  the  insurireiits,  assembled  together  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  formed  themselves  into  a  mili- 
tary organization  for  the  purpose  of  expelling  the'invaders. 
The  arms  and  ammunition  were,  for  the  most  plart,  in  the  hands 
of  the  enemy;  but  sporting  pieces  were  collected  and  cartridges 
made.  By  this  time,  reinforcements  commenced  coming  in 
from  the  country.    . 

-  Excited  couriers  had,  at  the  earliest  streak  of  daWn,  galloped 
over  the  country  and  given  the  alarm.  But  such  was  the  in- 
credulousness  of  the  country  people,  that  the  extraordinary 
statements  of  the  fugitives  were,  at  first,  disregarded.  As  the 
evidence,  however,  accumulated  and  became  overpowering,  the 
farmers  mounted  their  riding  horses,  and,  armed  with  what- 
ever was  most  convenient,  Went  towards  the  Ferry. 

The  man  who  brought  the  news  to  Uharlestown,  a  village 
•about  eight  miles  from  the  Ferry,  excited  nothing  but  the  mirth 
and  laughter  of  those  who  heard  him.  And,  when  he,  with  a 
grave  and  fearfully  serious  countenance,  insisted  upon  the  truth 
of  what  he  stated,  people  shook  their  heads  and  said  to  each 
other  that  the  man  was  crazy.  Some  suggested  that  he  should 
be  arrested,  as  it  was  improper  to  let  such  an  alarmist  run 
loose.  And,  to  those  who  objected,  there  were  not  wanting 
.aged  opponents  who  asserted,  most  positively,  that  in.sanity  had 
always  run  in  the  man's  family.  All  through  the  adjoining 
counties,  the  news  was  received  with  similar  incredulity,  and 
it  was  only  after  the  evidence  had  become  indisputable  that 
the  people,  forming  themselves  into  squads,.or,  sometimes,  unit- 
ing with  one  of  the  volunteer  comj^anies,  approached  the  Ferry. 
In  a  short  time,  the  roads  which  led  to  the  Ferry  were  filled 
with  volunteers  of  every  description  hurrying  to  the  extraordi- 
nary scene  of  conflict.  There  might  have  been  seen,  burly 
farmers  with  the  trusty  rifle  on  their  shoulders  and  uiubrella 
and  overcoat  tied  behind^  the  old-fashioned  saddle;  country 
gentlemen  with  their  pistol  holsters;  youths  with  their  sporting 
pieces,  and  occasional  gangs  of  the  State  militia,  strolling  along 
to  the  rendezvous,  with  few  arms  and  little  ammunition.  Oc- 
casionally, the  lively  beat  of  the  kettle-drum,  mingled  with 
the  animating  strains  of  the  fife,  announced  the  approach  of  a 
volunteer  company;  and  their  gay  uniforms  and  nodding  plumes, 
moving  to  their  measured  tread,  gave  a  bettor  promise  of  mili- 
tary aid  to  the  invaded  town. 

In  a  short  time,  the  efibrts  of  the  citizens,  assisted  by  the 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  85 

country  volunteers,  began  to  tlu'catcn  the  invaders  with  total 
discomfiture.  All  the  modes  of  egress  from  the  town  were 
seized,  and  from  every  direction  the  citizen  soldiers  closed  in 
around  the  enemy.  Many  of  tlieir  advance  jickets  were  killed 
or  captured,  and  the  remnant  forced  to  seek  refuge  with  IJrown 
in  a  single  building  in  the  armory  yard.  At  the  Hall  rifle 
works,  a  building  situated  on  the  Shenandoah,  about  a  half 
mile  distant  from  tire  headquarters  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
]irown  had  posted  .Kagi,  his  secretary  of  war,  \fith  one  of  his 
grand  divisions,  consisting  for  the  most  part  of  negroes,  and  num- 
bering about  six  men.  These,  like  the  main  body,  had  quite 
an  easy  time  at  first,  shooting  at  every  curious  person  that  man- 
ifested any  interest  in  their  perfornjances.  Their  notes  of  joy 
and  triumph  were  soon  changed  to  those  of  lamentation.  As 
soon  as  it  was  discovered  that  they  were  the  public  enemies, 
from  the  neighboring  hills,  which  overlooked  and  commanded 
the  building,  came  shrill  messengers  that  struck  panic  to  the 
hearts  of  the  corpa  iV  Afriquc 

Having  already  been  rendered  somewhat  nervous  by  the 
reports  of  their  own  pieces,  which  they  had  discharged  with 
devilish  glee  at  harmless  and  unoffending  people,  they  were 
filled  with  the  greatest  consternation  at  the  hissing  and  crash- 
ing sound  of  the  rifle  bullets,  as  they  whistled  and  flew  in 
their  vicinity.  Visions  of  liberty  and  power  and  landed 
estate,  vanished,  ignominlously,  before  the  frightful  apprehen- 
sions which  mastered  them,  and,  after  a  brief  effort  to  regain 
the  heroic  calmness  of  liberty's  martyrs,  they  took  to  their 
heels  and  fled  in  every  direction.  Bewildered  and  panic 
stricken,  most  of  them  were  shot  while  endeavoring  to  cross 
the  Shenandoah  or  to  return  to  Brown  in  the  armory  yard.  - 
Kagi,  it  is  supposed,  concealed  himself  in  one  of  the  out-t 
buildings  and  made  his  escape  two  or  three  days  afterwards. 
In  this  way,  IJrown  having  lost  more  than  a  third  of  his  force, 
and  being  reduced  with  hi,s  command  to  the  contracted  area  of 
a  small  brick  building  of  two  rot)ms,  he  began  to  have  some 
misgivings  about  the  establishment  of  his  military  empire. 
The  death  of  one  son  and  the  dying  groans  of  another,  admon- 
ished hiiti,  that  it  was  time  to  retreat  or  make  arrangements 
for  his  own  exit  from  this  y^orld  of  sin.  80,  selecting  a  gen- 
tleman of  aldermanic  proportions  and  respectable  appearance, 
he  sent  him  out  upon  parole,  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating 
terms  of  capitulation.  He  offered  t »  surrender  the  fortress 
and  prisoners,  provided  he  was  allowed  a  safe  retreat  for  him- 
H 


86  THE    TWO   REBELLIONS] 

self  and  followers;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  that  was  refused 
and  further  belligerent  demonstrations  were  made  towards  hiui, 
he  threatened  to  kill  his  prisoners  and  make  a  sally,  to  which 
despair  would,  in  all  probability,  lend  at  least  a  partial  success. 
This  proposition,  Which  indicat'cd  very  great  cunning  on  the 
part  of  Brown,  showed  that,  if  he  was  mad,  there  was  a 
"method  in  his  madness."  He  had,  indirectly,  foreseen  the 
alternative,  to  which  he  might  be  reduced,^ind,  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  his  retreat,  bad  captured  prisoners  as  hostages. 
Indeed,  there  is  great  reason  to  believe  that,  as  the  moment  for 
action  approached,  his  confidence  of  success  had  diminished ; 
and  that  his  prime  object,  in  striking  the  blow,  a/  the  time  Out t 
it  was  struck,  was  to  carry  out  orders  from  those  wlit>m  he  dared 
not  disobe}'.  Certainly,  he  had  hit  upon  the  only  plan  which 
promised  the  chance  of  escape,  in  case  of  military  failure.  His 
expectation  of  intimidating  the  citizens,  l|y  threats  of  violence 
towards  his  prisoners,  was  based  upon  the  reasoning  of  a  mind 
that  had  become  shrewd  in  the  perpetration  of  evil.  But  his 
devilish  sagacity  was,  as  usual,  not  sufficient.  He  had  not 
calculated  upon  the  swift  and  terrible  storm  of  indignation 
which  his  incredible  villainy  had  excited  among  the  citizens 
of  tho  State.  It  is  true,  that  the  fear  of  the  massacre  of  the 
prisoners,  in  some  measure,  retarded  the  efforts  for  his  capture. 
The  eloquent  entreaties  of  the  sobbing  wives,  whose  hu.4)and3 
were  in  Jirown's  possession,  and  the  arguments  of  their  friends 
and  relations,  divided  the  councils  and  cooled  the  ardor  of  the 
commanding  officers  of  the  citizen  soldiery. 

While,  however,  they  hesitated  to  drive  the  ferocious  out- 
law to  the  extremity  of  despair,  by  refusing  to  encourage  the 
slightest  hope  of  quarter,  they  did  not,  for  a  moment,  enter- 
tain the  idea  of  permitting  him  to  escape.  So,  without  coming 
to  any  understanding,  they  kept  up  their  attack  upon  the 
building  in  which  Brown  and  his  comrades  with  their  prison- 
ers, were  collected.  Their  anxiety  concerning  the  captives 
was,  in  some  measure,  relieved  by  a'successful  dash  made  by  a 
small  party  from  Martinsburg  upon  the  engine  house.  (Jetting 
momentary  possession  of  the  room,  in  which  the  majority  of 
the  prisoners  were  kept,  they  opened  the  doors  of  th&ir  prison, 
and  gave  them  an  opportunity  of  escape,  of  which  they  readily 
availed  themselves.  In  the  other*' room  of  the  same  building, 
which  did  not  communicate  with  this.  Brown  with  his  com- 
rades had  still  the  most  important  prisoners.  And,  being  now 
confined  in  their  military  operations  to  this  one  room,  they 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  87 

punched  boles  through  the  brick  walls  and   made  a  fort  quite 
impregnable  to  small  arms. 

Tlie  skirmishing  grew  momentarily  hotter,  and  the  outlaws, 
from  within  their  prison,  made  a  desperate  resistance.  During 
the  day,  occurred  an  incident  that  faithfully  forshadowed  the 
horrors  of  the  great  conflict  of  which  this  was  but  the  begin- 
ning. In  the  morning,  when  the  insurgents  were  being  gene- 
rally driven  back  by  the  citizen-soldiers,  who  encompassed 
them,  a  prisoner  by  the  name  of  Thompson  .was  captured. 
From  him,  for  the  first  time,  some  proper  idea  was  gathered  of 
the  strength  of  the  enemy,  and,  after  that  time,  the  advances 
became  bolder.  Several  citizens  had  been  already  killed,  and 
yet  many  exposed  themselves  to  the  fire  from  the  engine  house. 
Among  these  was  the  grey-haired  unarmed  mayor  of  the  town, 
by  the  name  of  Beckham.  In  vain  he  was  told  that  they  fired 
upon  all.  He  insisted  upon  making  a  target  of  his  body, 
foolishly  supposing  that  his  gray  hairs  and  unarmed  appearance 
would  protect  him  from  harm.  A  remorseless  bullet  from  the 
gun  of  one  of  the  insurgents  convinced  him  of  his  folly.  The 
sight  of  his  dead  body,  and  the  manner  of  his  death,  added 
fresh  fuel  to  the  already  burning  resentment  which  inflamed  the 
citizens.  This  wanton  murder  of  an  unarmed  old  man,  fairly 
maddened  with  fury  some  of  his  relatives  and  friends  who  wit- 
nessed his  death.  And,  impelled  by  a  blind  and  savage  animosi- 
ty towards  all  the  outlaws,  some  of  the  relatives  and  intimate 
friends  of  Beckham  seized  the  prisoner  Thompson,  and,  des- 
pite the  expostulations  and  protests  of  the  bystanders,  dragged 
him  out  upon  the  bridge,  killed  him,  and  threw  his  body  into 
the  river. 


C  II  APT  EH    XX. 

THE    niSCOMFITURE    OF    THE    OUTLAWS    AND    THEIR    CAPTURE. 

While  the  events  related  above  were  happening,  through 
the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the  old  Union,  the  population 
was  thrilled  with  the  most  novel  sensations  of  astonishment 
an<l  indignation.  The  morbid  love  of  novelty  which  afl^icted 
the  dyspeptic  minds  of  the  northern  masses  was  highly  grali- 


88  TOB    TWO   REBELLIONS; 

fied,  at  first,  by  the  extraordinary  accounts  that  reached  them. 
For  once,  the  busy  fancy  of  the  newspaper  correspondents 
was  nonphissed.  It  required  no  ingenuity  to  misrepresent  the 
magnitude  and  to  paint  it,  for  the  pleasure  of  the  lovers  of 
the  marvcllnu?,  on  a  scale  of  incredible  size;  but,  to  come  at 
the  real  nature  of  the  affair,  or  even  to  exceed  its  strangeness 
by  an  invention  of  the  imagination,  was  an  achievement 
transcending  their  mercenary  powers.  At  length,  however, 
their  was  an  end  to  the  "  startling  discoveries"  and  "astound- 
ing developments,"  daily  chronicled  in  the  northern  papers; 
and,  for  a  brief  space,  they  condescended  to  discuss  the  meaning 
of  the  event. 

In  the  meantime,  something  more  than  mere  idle  speculation 
was  taking  place  at  the  South.  Like  a  clap  of  thunder  in  a 
clear  sky,  the  event  astonished  them,  and,  when  the  nature  of 
it  was  understood,  an  active  sense  of  resentment  possessed 
them.  The  news,  however,  was  too  late  reaching  Kichmond, 
to  enable  the  Governor  of  the  State,  H.  A.  Wise,  to  roach  the 
ground  with  State  i'orces,  before  the  emrvte  was  "suppressed, 
and  ]jrown  and  the  remnant  of  his  band  captured.  As  soon 
as  the  President  of  the  United  States,  James  Buchanan,  was 
informed  of  the  outbreak,  a  body  of  marines;  under  Col.  Ivobert 
E.  Lee,  was  forwarded  to  tlie  scene  of  action.  The  city  of 
Baltimore  at  once  forwarded  troops,  and  these,  joined  with  the 
L'nited  States  forces,  arrived  at  the  Ferry  about  10  o'cldck 
Monday  night.  More  Virginia  troops,  from  the  adjoining 
counties,  reached  there  Tuesday  night,  and,  by  the  following 
morning,  quite  a  formidable  military  force  encompassed  the 
doomed  criminals. 

L^p  to  that  time,  the  Virginians,  who  liad  driven  Brown  into 
the  engine  house,  killing  and  W(ninding  nearly  half  of  his 
men,  had  not  yet  made  up  their  minds  to  storm  the  engine 
house  and  run  the  hazard  of  having  the  prisoners  massacred, 
as  Brown  threatened.  The  arrival  of  Colonel  Lee,  with  regular 
troops,  8to])ped  the  deliberations  of  the  militia  commanders. 
The  fact  that  the  outlaws  were  on  the  territory  and  in  a  build- 
ing over  which  the  Tnited  States  had  temporary  authority, 
made  it  exceedingly  proper  that  the  federal  officer  connnand- 
ing  should  decide  upon  their  fate.  Besides,  it  was  reasonable 
so  suppose  that  the  outlaws  would  not  expect  the  same  impor- 
tance to  be  attached  to  their  threats  of  massacring  the  })ri.s(»n- 
ers  by  a  federal  oflicer  in  command  of  regular  trooj)?,  as  by 
citizen   officers  commanding  soldiers,  many  of  whom  were  re- 


OR,   TREASON^  UNJfASKED.  89 

latcd  to  the  tlifeatcued  victims.  Accordingly,  it  was  clctcrm- 
i^ied  that,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  the  engine-house  should  be 
stormed  by  the  niarinesi,  unless,  before  that  time,  the  enemy 
surrendered.  During  the  night,  volunteer  parties  of  the  hot- 
blooded  Virginians,  jealous  of  the  honor  of  their  State,  be- 
sought Colonel  Lee  to  let  them  have  the  privilege  of  storming 
the  engin'e  house.  All  such  propositions  were,  however,  re- 
fused, by  one  whose  lofty  and  heroic  devotion  to  the  interesis  of 
Virginia  allows  none  to  question  .the  propriety  of  his  decision. 
As  daylight  dawned,  troops  were  stationed  around  tho  enginc- 
hou-<e  to  cut  off  all  hope  of  escape,  and  ihe  United  States 
marines  divided  into  two  squads  for  storming  purposes.  A 
deathlike  stillness  and  absence  of  life,  seemed  to  settle  upon 
the  insurgent  fortress,- and  the  outlaws  no  longer  fired  upon 
the  troops  now  within  short  range;  but,  froiii  the  gloomy  port- 
lioles,  they  silently  vratched  the  terrible  preparations  that  were 
going  on.  What  had  come  over  them,  none  could  tell,  tliat 
they  permitted  men  to  form  right  in  front  of  their  stronghold, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  it  b}"^  storm.  Perhaps,  Brown  was 
still  hopeful  tliat  his  propositions  of  capitulation  would  be  ac- 
ceeded  to;  perhaps,  he  l)ad  resigned  himself  to  the  forlorn 
hope  of  mollifying  by  this  forbearance,  the  manifest  animosity 
of  his  unrelenting  pursuers. 

Shortly  after  7  o'clock,  Lieutenant  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  then  an 
aid-de-camp  of  Colonel  Lee,  afterwards  the  world  renowned 
cavalry  chief  of  Lee's  army,  advanced  to  parley  with  the  be- 
sieged— an  old  citizen  bearing  a  flag  of  truce.  .  They  were  re- 
eeived  at  the  door  by  Brown,  who  heard  their  proposition  and 
responded.  Lieutenant  Stuart  demanded  an  unconditional  and 
immediate  surrender,  promising  only  protection  from  violence 
and  a  trial  according  to  law.  Brown  refused  all  terms  but 
tlvise  which  he  had  more  than  once  alreftdy  asked  for,  namely: 
"  That  he  should  be  permitted  to  pass  out  unmolested  with  hii 
men  and  arms  and  prisoners,  that  they  should  proceed  unpur-. 
sued  to  the  second  toll  gate,  when  they  would  free  their  prison- 
ers and  take  the  chances  of  escape.  These,  of  course,  were 
refused,  and  Stuart,  reminding  Brown  of  his  desperate  posi- 
tion, urged  upon  him  the  sense  and  humanity  of  a  surrender. 
Brown,  however,  was  deaf  to  all  persuasion,  returning  a  sullen 
and  dogged  refusal  to  every  demand,  though  Stuart  earnestly 
expostulated. 

Having  exhausted    the  power   of   words,  Stuart   slowly  re- 
turned  from   the   door  of  tho  engine  house,  and  the  signal  of 


00  THE    TWO    BEBELLIONS; 

attack  was  given.  The  marines  advanced  in  two  lines  on  each 
side  of  the  door.  Two  powerful  fellows  sprunp;  between  the 
lines  and  attempted,  witji  sledge-hammers,  to  batter  it  down. 
The  door  swuMg_and  swayed,  but  appeared  to  be  secured  with  a 
rope,  the  spring  of  which  deadened  the  effect  of  the  heavy 
blows.  Failing  thus  to  force  an  entrance,  the  marines  were 
ordered  to  fall  baik.  Exchanging  the  hammers  for  a  lad- 
der, which  was  on  hand,  and,  converting  it  into  a  sort  of  bat- 
tering ram,  they  advanced  at  a  run  and  thrust  it  against  the 
door.  At  the  second  blow,  the  latter  gave  way,  one  leaf  falling 
inward  in  a  slanting  direction.  Tlie  marines  immediately 
dropped  the  ladder  and  rushed  towards  the  breach  formed,  hieut. 
Stuart  among  the  first.  One  man,  in  the  front,  foil  mortally 
wounded,  aiid  .sharp  and  rapid  was  the  firing  from  within,  from 
the  insurgents  now  driven  to  desperation.  The  ne.\t  moment 
tlie  gap  is  widened  and  the  marines  pour  in.  As  Lieutenant 
Stuart  enters  the  door,  a  voice  cried  out,  '*  I  surrender  I" 
Brown  said,  "One  man  surrenders,  give  him  quarter!"  and  at 
the  same  time  fired  his  piece.  The  next  moment  Stuart's 
sword  had  entered  his  skull,  and  the  desperate  outlaw  was 
stretched  bleedinir. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    DISCLOSURE    OK    THE    OBJECT    OF   THE    REnEI.S. 

Such  was  the  termination  of  tlve  first  campaign  of  abolition 
against  the  liberty  and  independence  of  the  South.  It  Was  a 
remarkable  caprice  of  fate,  that  permitted  the  lion  of  Arling- 
ton to  fight  his  first  fight  against  abolitionism  in  the  uniform 
of  a  iederal  oflicer ;  and  to  let  him  who,  in  the  unfolded  records 
of  the  future,  was  reserved  to  bring  to  naught  all  the  diabolical 
plane  of  an  abolition  government  against  the  integrity  oi"  the 
South,  commence  his  magnifieient  career  by  capturing  the 
eometime  apostle,  and,  after  his  execution,  the  god  of  aboli- 
tion. 

When  the  insurgents  were  brought  out  of  the  engine  hou.se, 
some  dead,  others  wounded,  curious  indeed  was  the  group  that 
surrounded  them.  The  wounded  and  the  dead  were  stretclied 
side  by  side  upon  the  sod;  and  old  Brown,  a  gory  spectacle, 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  91 

his  fucc  ami  hair  clotted  with  blood,  a  bayonet  wound  in  his 
side,  with  his  dead  and  dying  sons  around  him,  excited  the 
pity,  indignation  and  liorror,  of  all  who  beheld  him.  Several 
persons  in  the  crowd  at  once  recognized,  iu  the  outlaw,  the  in- 
famous Ossawattomie  Brown,  of  Kansas  notoriety.  The  dis- 
covery seemed  to  please  him,  and  he  acknowledged  the  busy 
part  he  took  iu  the  Kansas  war,  with  apparent  pleasure.  Upon 
being  questioned  by  the  bystanders  as  to  his  purpose  in  seizing 
upou  the  Ferry,  he  gave  different  and  confused  answers.  To 
some  he  said  that  he  had  lost  a  son  in  Kansas,  to  others,  that  ho 
considered  it  his  duty  to  make  war  on  the  slaveholder.  To  (Gov- 
ernor Wise,  he  admitted  the  following:  "I  rented  tlie  Ken- 
nedy farm  from  Dr.  Kennedy,  and  named  it  after  him.  Here 
I  ordered  to  be  sent  from  the  East,  all  things  required  for  my 
undertaking.  The  boxes  were  double,  so  that  no  one  could 
suspect  the  contents  of  them,  not  even  the  carters  engaged  iu 
hauling  them  up  from  the  wharves.  All  boxes  and  packages 
were  directed  to  J.  Smith  Si^  Son.  I  never  had  more  than 
twenty-two  men  about  the  place  at  one  time. '  But,  had  it  so 
arranged,  that  I  could  arm,  at  any  time,  fifteen  hundred  men 
with  the  following  arms :  two  thousand  Sharp's  rifles,  two 
hundred  IMaynard's  revolvers,  one  thousand  spears.  I  would 
have  armed  the  whites  with  the  rifles  and  revolvers,  and  the 
blacks  with  the  spears;  they  not  being  sufficiently  familiar 
with  Other  arms.  I  had  plenty  of  ammunition  and  provisions, 
and  had  a  good  right  to  e.xpect  the  aid  of  from  two  to  five 
thousand  men,  at  any  time  I  wanted  them.  Help  was  promised 
me  from  Maryland,  Kentucky,  North  and  South  Carolina,  Vir- 
ginia and  Canada.  The  blow  was  struck  a  little  too  soon.  The 
passing  of  the  train  on  Sunday  night  did  the  work  for  usj 
that  killed  us.  /  onl//  regret  that  1  haoc  fdilcd  in  mi/  designs; 
but  I  have  no  apology  to  make  or  concession,  to  ask  now.  llad 
we  succeeded,  when  our  arms  and  funds  were  exhausted  hi/  an 
increasing  arnii/,  contributions  would  have  been  levied  on  the 
slaveholders,  and  their  jrrojyerty  appropriated  to  defray  expenses 
and  carry  on  the  loar  of  freedom.  Had  I  knowi  government 
money  was  in  the  safe  here,  I  would  have  appropriated  it." 

Having  thus  unburdened  his  mind  and  defijintly  avowed  his 
nefarious  purposes,  before  a  gaping  and  curjous  crowd,  to  the 
Governer  of  the  State,  whose  soil  he  had  polluted.  Brown  siVnk 
back  quite  exhausted,  and  with  the  calmness,  that  unconquer- 
able hate  lends  even  to  the  dying,  surveyed  the  bystanders. 
His  countenance  plainly  indicated  that  his  bosom  was  still 


02  TJiT!  TWO  ri:bet.ltons  ; 

ajritatcil  witli  those  nialignmt  passions  which  had  ruined  him, 
and  the  apjiarcnt  jiniximity  of  death  and  its  awt'il  se(|uel, 
seemed  entin'l}-  fMrirnttcn  iu  the  conecntrated  hate  that  spuko 
in  every  lineament  of  his  face.  Governor  Wise  told  hini  that 
he  had  better  be  preparinnj  for  death.  He  replied,  with  u 
sneer,  that  he,  (the  GdVcmor.)  tho'gh  he  niip;ht  live  fifteen 
years,  would  have  a  pmd  deal  to  nn^iwer  for,  and  that  he  had 
better  be  preparin<r  for  death  himself.  The  defiant  collduc^  of 
lirown  was  imitated,  in  a  <::reMt  measure,  liy  nxist  of  his  part- 
ners in  ;ruilt.  The  terrors  of  death  .<!cemed  for^^uttcn  amidst 
the  excitement  of  their  capture,  and  it  was  not  till  the  jn"im 
kinj»  of  terrors  was  felt  to  be  slowly  approachinsr,  fhrou<;h  the 
solemn  and  deliberate  forms  of  the  law,  that  their  jruilty  souls 
heard  a<;ain  the  voice  of  con.scieuce  and  were  oppressed  with 
gloomy  i'orebodings. 

As  an  cvi'ience  of  the  mad  and  diabolical  Spirit  which  filled 
them  »11,  the  followintr  may  be  read  by  the  curious  ;  having 
Ix'on  written  by  Watson  J?^own,  (as  is  said,)  in  tlie  engine 
house,  while  lying  there  mortally  wounded:  "  Fit;ht  on,  fight 
on,  yoo  hell  houns  of  the  loWer  regions.  Your  day  has  come. 
Lower  your  black  flag,  shoot  your  dogs  yoo  devils.  Hell  and 
furies,  go  in  for  death."  Such  is,  as  it  were,  the  dying  mani- 
festo of  one  of  lirown's  "  martyr"  children.  His  body,  ai'ter 
his  death,  was  transported  to  the  dissecting  room  of  the 
Medical  College,  at  ^Vinchcster,  and,  when  the  first  Yankee 
army  entered  that  town  the  college  building  was  burned  by  the 
Yankee  soldiers,  in  revenge  for  the  indignity  perpetrated  there 
upon  Watson  IJrown's  body. 

The  curiosity  of  the  people  to  find  out  the  motives  of  the 
outlaws,  in  doing  as  they  did,  restrained,  for  u  time,  their  out- 
bursts of  wrath,  which  the  more  increased  when  they  heard 
the  criminals  glory  in  their  crimes.  The  projjosition  to  hang 
theni  on  the  spot  where  th'ey  had  committed  their  crimes,  was 
received  with  loud  and  threatening  applause,  and  nothing  but 
the  strong  arm  of  the  military,  whicli  was  interposed  for  their 
protection,  prevented  their  .immediate  execution.  Notwith- 
standing there  was  a  doubt  concerning  the  right  of  jurisdiction 
in  the  matter,  the  outlaws  having  been  captured  on  territory 
subject  to  the  teniporarj'  control  of  the  federal  government,  it 
was  determitied  to  hand  them  over  to  the  authorities  of  the 
State  whose  sovereignty  they  had  insulted.'  Accordingly,  they 
were  taken  charge  ot'  by  (lie  civil  autlioritios  oi'  Jefl'erson  coun- 
ty, uud  securely  coniined  iu  the  Charlcstowu  jail. 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  93 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

WHAT    WAS     THOUGHT     OF    THE     REBEI.S    BY     THE     NORTHERN      AND 
SOUTHEItUM    MAiSShiS WAIil.lKE    HKEHAKATIONS  IN   THE    SOUTH. 

In  tlie  nieantimo,  from  tlie  confessions  of  tlie^oviininals  and 
tlie  papers  and  maps  found  upon  the  person  of  old  Brown  and  > 
at  tlie  Kennedy  farm,  a  coriett  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  inva- 
sion betjan  to  be  formed  in  (he  popular  mind.  The  developments 
too,  whii-h  daily  occurred,  showing  the  extent  and  meaning  of 
the  conspiracy,  threw  still  more  light  upon  the  subject.  But  it 
was  not  until  some  time  after,  when  large  assemblies  met 
in  the  North  to  express  their  sympathy  for  old  I  rown,  "  the 
martyr  of  freedom,"  and  tlignified  public  bodies  adopted  resolu- 
.tions  complimentary  to  liis  character,  that  the  order-loving  citi- 
zens of  the  Union  comprehended  the  significance  of  the  outbreak.i^ 
Then,  for  the  first  time,  it  was  discovered  that  there  was  a  des- 
perate and  dangerous  political  element  at  the  North  which  aimed 
at  the  destruction  of  the  South  even  at  (lie  expense  of  the 
Union.  Some  of  the  leading  papers  at  the  North  expressed  a  pious 
horror  at  tlie  atrocities  of  the  oudaws. 

The  northern  masses,  confounded  at  the  prospect  of  general 
connnotion,  recoiled  from  thn  ])ra(  lical  <'onsequence  of  an  anti- 
slavery  and  sectional  feeling,  wliich  (hey  then,  in  a  measure,  en- 
tertained, and  not  long  afterwards  proclaimed  from  the  housftops. 

The  more  sagacious  of  the  democratic  northern  journals  took  - 
advantage  of  the  event  to  read  a  moral   lesson  to  the   followers 
of  the  black  republican  leaders.     They  showed  (he  meaning  of 
the  "outbreak,"  charged  the  republi<'ans  with  its  responsibility, 
and  pointed  out  (he  piobability  of  the  occurence  of  more  serious 
similar  events  should  the  republican  party  obtain  predominance.  • 
They  spoke  with  the  forecast  of  inspiration  ;  but  it  is  probable 
that  party  sj»iri(,  njore   than   love  of  country,  stimulated   their 
sagacity.     Such,  indeed,  was  the  general   opinion.     For,  party- 
spirit  had  reached  that  degree  of  bitterness  in  (he  United  States 
when,  though   arguments  might  be   prompted  by   (he  most  en- 
ligli((Mied  patiiodsm,  they  were  generally  regarde<l   as  tlie   inte- 
r<-stc<l  clToitsof  hiipd  advoca(es.      It  was  in  vain  (hat  the  New 
Vork  Herald  and  other  iiifiuenlial  orirans  at  (he  North  |)roclaimed  ' 
that  the  "irrepressible  confiict"  of  Mr  Snvard  had  commenced, 
and  that,  if  it  was  not  repudiated  by  the  \«>iih  and  the  attempted 
coiillagration  quenched  in  the  spark,  the  lires  of  intestine  strife  * 


!it  TUE    TWO  rebellions; 

■would  soon  rage  with  desolating  fury  through  the  whole  land. 
The  republican  pres^ses  differed  in  their  opinions  oi  the  JJaiper's 
Ferry  transaction.  Tiiey  agreed  in  some  things  however.  They 
all  concurred  in  the  opinion  that  the  republican  party  could 
alone  save  the  country.  What  kind  of  salvation  was  meant, 
however,  was  in  most  cases  concealed.  Comprising  within  their 
ranks  the  innumerable  malcontents  of  every  imaginable  radical 
and  fanatic  hue,  they  were  united  only  by  their  common  opposi- 
tion to  the  administration  and  their  antipathy  to  the  southern  )>eo- 
jile.  They  outdid  the  democrats  in  their  prayers  for  peace,  and, 
while  they,  in  many  cases,  denied  their  complicity  in  the  Ilar- 
]ier's  terry  transaction,  they  nevertheless,  exhausted  their  rheto- 
rical poweis  in  extenuating  the  crimes  of  the  outlaws  and  framing 
apologies  for  their  fanaticism.  Many  of  them,  indeed,  did  not 
hesitate  to  justify  lirown,  and  eulogise  his  "heroic  conduct." 

The  abolitionists,  however,  proclaimed  their  sympathy  and  ad- 
miration for  the  criminals,  with  unblushing  effrontery; and,  wlien 
it  was  discovered  that  the  Federal  authoiity  was  not  going  to 
trouble  them,  they  indulged  in  the  most  jubilant  ineetings,  ill 
commemoration  of  the  glory  of  the  "liberator  of  tlie  ninteenth 
century."  They  extolled  his  bravery  and  held  up,  for  the  emula- 
tion of  the  American  youth,  his  sainted  example.  Every  act  of 
atrocity  and  every  piece  of  adroit  villainy  of  which  he  had  been 
guilty,  was  paraded  for  the  ediflcation  of  admiring  thousands. 
The  insolent  defiance  of  the  vain  and  desperate  outlaw,  these 
elofpient  geese  took  for  an  exhibition  of  the  martyr's  spirit,  while 
the  atleinpt  at  servile  insurrection  whs  exalted  above  any  other 
effort  forfreedom  that  the  world  had  ever  witnessed. 

'J'he  pages  of  profane  history  were  searched,  in  vain,  for  an 
anti-type  lo  the  illustrious  John.  Timoleon  and  Biutus  were 
noble"  hearted  heathens— Hampden  and  Washington  Christian 
lieroos  ;  but  thev  all  lacked  that  singleness  of  zeal  which  stamjied 
•lohn  l^.rown  as  the  divinely  commissioned  hero  of  mo.lern  times. 
Sacred  history  alone  furnished  any  characters  worthy  of  being 
(•ompared  to'hin).  Some  called  him  a  Moses,  some  a  Joshua, 
and  some  a  (rideon,  but  Wendell  Phillips  bore  off  the  p-.lm  for 
disgusting  profanity,  when  he  declared  that  John  Brown  was  a 
second  Saviour  of  "mankind,  and  would  make  the  "gallows  more 
glorious  than  the  cross" 

While  the  abolitionists  thus  boldly  avowed  their  approbation 
of  the  outbreak  and  their  admiration  for  the  discomfitted  pirates 
who  had  en"-aged  in  it,  it  was  whispered  on  ever)-  side,  that  the 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  95 

most  influential  chiefs  of  the  republicans  were  privy  to  the  aflfair, 
and  had  lent  it  their  countenance  and  support. 

Papei"s  were  found  on  Brown's  person  and  at  the  Kennedy 
farm-house  which  indirectly  implicated  men  high  in  position  in 
the'  government.  No  positive  evidence,  however,  was  forthcom- 
ing which,  before  a  judicial  tribunal,  would  convict  the  distin- 
guished accused;  and  the  indignant  public,  who  were  indignant, 
(a  few  democrats.)  satislied  itself  with  quietly  consigning  the 
conspirators  against  the  public  peace,  to  the  infamy  they  so  well 
deserved.  Among  those  wiio  were  thus  pilloried  in  democratic  , 
esteem,  VVm.  II.  Seward  was  conspicuous.  While,  however,  he 
and  his  coadjutors  thus  lost  cast  with  a  certain  respectable  por- 
tion of  the  public,  the  mass  of  their  admirers  still  adhered  to 
them ;  not  .so  much  on  account  of  the  weakness  of  the  evidence 
against  them  as  because  they  liked  them  the  better  for  their  trea- 
son. Where  they  lost  one  friend  they  gained  two  For  the 
abolitioni.sts  and  extreme  republicans,  a  large  constituency,  now 
presented  a  solid  phalanx  in  their  favour. 

Seward  understood  all  this,  and  neither  publicly  denied  nor 
admitted  the  charges  brought  against  him.  He  felt  himself  to 
be  the  representative  of  the  sectional  enemies  of  the  South,  tlie 
founder  and  the  priest  of  the  republicans.  The  anointed  shep- 
herd of  the  new  flock,  hitli^rto,  he  had  only  fed  them  upon  milk  ; 
but  the  day  was  not  far  distant  when  he  hoped  to  minister  at  a 
fea.st  of  meat  and  blood. 

WlHle  public  sentiment  at  the  North,  concerning  the  outbreak, 
was  thus  divided,  unsettled,  and,  among  the  majority,  insensibly 
a.ssimilating  to  that  which  prevailed  among  the  extreme  republi- 
can.s,  at  the  South  the  current  of  opinion  ran  in  the  opposite 
direction.  Universal  indignation  at  the  audacity  and  atrocious-  ^ 
ness  of  the  abolition  attempt,  which  at  first  prevailed,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  general  feeling  of  a])prehension  and  alarm,  when 
the  real  state  of  public  sentiment  at  the  North  began  to  be  re- 
vealed. 

Reflecting  men  discovered,  in  tlie  various  manifestations  of 
northern  sentinient,  a  wide-spread  under-current  of  profound 
hostility  to  the  institutions  and  people  of  the  South.  Amid  the 
increasing  roar  of  the  noisy  radicalism,  which  difiered  only  in 
the  degrees  of  sectional  bitterness,  they  heard  the  mutterings  of 
the  coming  storm.  This  impression  which,  at  first,  prevailed  only 
with  the  more  experienced  and  sagacious,  soon  spread  among 
the  massess ;  and,  as  the  signs  in  tlie  political  sky  became  more 
and  more  threatening,  the  whole  southern  people  began  to  fully 


96  THE  TWO   rebellions; 

approlienrl  the  sitrnifi.nncp  of  daily  events.  Several  of  tlie  south- 
ern Suites,  anlieipHtiiig  tlie  fiituic,  begin  to  prepare  fortlic  coin- 
ing struggle 

Henry  A.  Wise,  the  Governor  of  Viririnia,  wax  one  of  those 
who  foresaw,  with  almost  prophetic  eve,  the  iuipemling  conflict. 
With  the  ostensilile  design,  of  providing  again>t  a  rescue  of  the 
criminals  from  the  ('harlestown  jail,  he  encouraged  the  organiza- 
tion of  military  companies  throiifjhout  the  Sta<e,  and  used  every 
legitimate  means  to  excite  a  war  spirit  among  the  people,  ('om- 
panie.s  were  received  at  Chariestown  and,  after  a  short  stay  there, 
were  sent  away  to  make  room  for  others,  in  order  that  the  war 
spirit  might  he  disseunnated  thronghont  the  State.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  legislature  was  called  to  the  state  of  the  (^onunon- 
wealth,  and  initiatory  steps  were  taken  to  put  the  Old  l>ominion 
upon  a  war  footing.  All  over  the  State,  military  organizations 
sprang  u]>,  ami  a  homogeneous  feeling  of  hostility  was  thus  en- 
gendered against  any  and  all  the  enemies  of  their  cherished 
soveieign. 

There  is  no  douht  that  these  events  had  much  to  do  in  unitiz- 
ing and  sireiigtheniiig  those  feelings  of  State  pride  whitdi  sus- 
tained Virginia  in  that  teriil)le  hour  of  trial,  when  called  u])on 
to  bare  her  defenseless  bosom  to  the  northern  avalanche  and  offer 
her  body  as  a  barrier  against  the    waves  of  northern   fanaticism. 

The  God  of  battles,  who  understood  the  loftiness  of  the  motives 
which  prompted  the  sacrificial  otl'cring.  has  permitted  her,  terri- 
tory to  be  desolated  ancl  the  blood  of  her  children  to  be  shed  ; 
but,  umler  the  su|>ervision  of  his  providence,  the  spirit  of  her 
people  is  still  uinlaunted,  and  her  proud  motto  "sic  semper  ty- 
rannis"  still  speaks  an  annual  defiance  upon  the  uttermost  limits 
of  her  norlheastern  bonier. 


C  II  A  r  T  K  R    XXIII. 

MlLITAIiY     SflRIT    IN     VIUGIMA RIIAPOWS    OK     COMINO    KVKNT6 

CANDIUATES    FOR    KU1TKK    KAMK ASIIMV    A.VU    JACKSON. 

In  accordance  with  the  prudent  pt)licy  adopted  by  the  Gov- 
ernor of  \'irginia,  Chariestown,  wIiil-^c  jail  contained  the  out- 
law.s,  was  transforined  fmni  a  <|uiet  country  village  into  a  mili- 
tary camp  of  instructiou  for  the  raw  levies  which  rcspoudcd 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  97 

to  the  call  of  tlicir  countr)'.  Private  houses  as  well  as  pubHo 
buildings  were  converted  into  temporary  barracks;  a  line  of 
pickets  girdled  thc'town;  sentinels  walked  their  beats  on  its 
sidowalks,  and  the  busy  hum  of  a  military  camp  resounded 
through  the  lurnierly  noiseless  streets  of  the  village.  The 
threatened  rescue  of  the  imprisoned  felons  created  the  liveliest  ^ 
feelings  of  indignation  throughout  the  South,  and  the  Governor 
was  honored  with  dfTcrs  of  tnxtps  from  almost  every  Confeder- 
ate State.  Even  Pennsylvania  felt  called  upon  to  become  an 
ally  of  Virginia.  All  help,  liowever,  outside  of  the  State, 
was  respectfully  declined  ;  tor,  the  Chief  ^lagistrate  had  enough 
to  do  to  employ  the  irrepre.^^siblc  warriors  of  Virginia.  Indeed, 
many  vfrore  flatly  relusvjd,  while  others  were  granted  the  privi- 
lege of. waiting  their  time.  By  this  rotation  in  military  ser-  . 
vice,  troops  were  cotistantly  relieving  other  troops  at  Charles-'/ 
town,  who  returned  to  their  homes  with  the  greatest  regret. 
The  genial  hospitality  of  the  citizens  of  Charlestown  and  Jef- 
ferson county,  had  made  the  hours  of  their  military  experience 
joyful  and  fleeting,  and  they  lel't  the  theatre  of  war  With  a  very 
€xalted  opinion  of  the  grim  visaged  monster. 

Among  the  gay  and  animated  groups  which  continually  filled 
the  streets  of  the  village-,  representatives  of  all  classes  and  I'rom 
all  parts  of  the  State  might  have  been  seen.  Each  company 
disported  the  uuii'orm  of  their  fancy,  and  all  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow  shone  out  resplendent  in  the  various  costumeS  which 
met  the  eye.  There  might  have  been  seen  the  modest  grey 
tinifovms  of  the  Kichmond  volunteers  mingled  with  the  cerulean 
blues  of  .-Mexindria,  the  gi.iring  buff  and  yellow  of  the  Valley 
Continentals  and  the  indescribably  gorgeous  crimsun  of  the 
south  westerners.  Among  niany  corps,  each  military  gentleman 
selected  his  own  tmiform  ;  and,  while  all  seemed  affected  with 
a  contempt  for  their  cit'zen  chtthcs,  rarely*more  than  two  agreed 
in  the  selection  of  the  color  of  their  military  dress.  Sonic  wore 
slouch  bats,  some  military  caps,  and  some  stove-pipe  beavers  of 
the  latest  style.  It  was  a  niv-irry  gathering,  and  every  one  was 
as  gay  and  as'happy  as  a  lark.  1'hey  talked  of  war  as  a  pas- 
time, and  seemed  to  think  that  it  was  a  glorious  thing.  Did 
college  arquaintanccs  uiet,  for  the  first  time  after  a  long  sepa- 
ration, and  exchanged  o]piuions  upmi  tlie  state  ol"  the  country.  •  • 
The  w»  "f^jrn  and  tlip  en«ferri  the  nnrthfp  and  the  southern 
Vir^iTiKin.''.'disp  iv'eivd  (iiat  ti.-ir  views  wore  similar,  and  that  *^ 
♦hoy  were  all  imbue  1  with  i  roinrrntio.'devotion  to  (he  Honor 
and  dignity  of  thc-ir  mottifi-  iitate.     While  sumo  discussed  .pel- 


V>  THE    TWO    KKbLLLWSti ; 

itics  aud  war,  otlicrs  dcToted  theniselrea  to  the  ladies.  The 
plumcfl  cavalier,  with  his  jiii|rliii>,'  ppurH  aud  rattliug  sabre, 
vied  with  (he  gaily  dcc(>ratcd  inl'aiitryiuan  iu  the  hotels  aud 
parlors  oi"  the  villape.  The  slightest  incideut  while  "out  on 
duty"  served  fur  the  basis  of  a  thrilling  narrative;  and  often 
oue  could  see  some  ardent  captain  exciting  the  livelici>t  sympa- 
thy of  a  tender-hearted  dam.4el  with  an  eloquent  accuuut  of  the 
horrors  of  a  sleepless  night  or  a  rainy  day. 

But,  of  all  the  candidates  fur  admiration  who  entered  the 
lists,  the  militia  ufficors  of  high  rank  were  the  munt  conspicu- 
ous. Impatient  fur  the  field,  and  provoked  at  the  tardiness  of 
the  (iovernor  in  calling  out  their  commands, 'they  determined 
to  give  the  commanding  general  at  Charlestown  the  benefit  of 
their />rrso/u//  prowess  and  counsel. 

Every  morning  the  bulletin-board  announced  thi  addition 
of  a  new  officer  to  the  staff  of  the  commanding  general,  and 
the  public  were  gratified  to  learn  that  another  martial  Solomon 
had  arrircd.  'Mounted  on  blooded  steeds,  and  arrayed  iu  mag- 
nificent regimentals,  these  distinguished  gentlemen,  riding  con- 
stnntly  and  furiously  up  and  down  the  crowded  streets  of. the 
village,  were  a  terror  to  pedestrians  aud  children,  aud  the  ad- 
miration of  the  ladies. 

In  addition  to  these  lions  of  the  hour,  there  were  numerous 
notorious  people  from  all  parts  of  the  republic.  Notable*,  of 
every -description,  came  aud  put  their  heads  together,  orer  a 
bowl  of  punch,  to  determine  the  fate  of  the  country.  "  Bor- 
der ruffians,"  "  Indian  fighters,"  Texas  Teterans,  northern  dem- 
ocrats, celebruted  philanthropists,  newspaper  correspondents, 
and  strong-minded  women,  all  assembled  at  tlharlcstown  ibr  the 
purpu.«o  of  gratifying  their  curiusity.  Kach  oue  seemed  pos- 
sessed with  a  vague  idea  that  something  was  about  to  turn  up, 
out  of  which  something  could  be  made.  I'orhaps,  the  novel 
pleasures  of  those  days  aud  the  horrors  of  those  nights  fascina- 
ted them.  For  military  parades — the  short  intervals  bptween 
filled  np  with  violent  discussions  and  the  ceaseless  touching  of 
glasses  at  the  bar-room  counter — made  the  day  pass  quite  glibly; 
while  the  parting  good-night  healths  were  oft  renewed  to  for- 
tify the  mind  against  the  terrible  alarms  which  invariably  dis- 
turbed one's  nocturnal  slumbers.  Humors  of  midnight  attempts 
at  rescue,  and  of  the. burning  of  the  village  under  the  cover  of 
darkness,  made  their  regular  evening  rounds;  and  the  sentinels, 
who  were  ever  ready  to  discharge  their  iiieces  at  indiscreet 
ni"ht-waudcrers,  were  constantly  verifying  the  appreheosiona 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  09 

of  the  aaxious.  When,  to  all  this  fanfaronade  of  noisy  soldiers, 
gorgeous  officers,  impudent,  prying,  notorieties  and  Yankee  ccTr- 
respondents,  elbowing  each  other,  everywhere,  and  vieing  in 
mutual  displays  of  military  fierceness  and  sectional  contempt, 
we  add,  the  clatter  of  kettle-drums,  the  march  of  armed  col- 
umns, the  flaunting  of  banners,  the  glistening  of  bayonets,  and 
the  incessant  outbursts  of  martial  music,  we  have  a  faint  pic- 
ture of  that  mimic  scene  of  war  which  was  a  significant  part 
in  the  first  act  of  the  great  revolutionary  drama. 

This  hollow  bombast,  which  eyes  inexperienced  mistook  for 
the  real  "  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war,"  was  quite  natural  to 
a  people  who,  for  so  long  a  time,  had  enjoyed  the  luxury  of 
peace.  The  first  opportunity,  of  gratifying  the'martial  ardor  of 
a  people  naturally  found  of  war,  was  seized  with  avidity  by  the 
susceptible  youth  of  Virginia;  and  it  was  in  accordance  with  the 
character  of  events  that  the  opening  display  should  seem  bom- 
bastic and  ridiculous.  The  Yankee  correspondents,  whose 
machiavellian  souls  could  not  comprehend  the  uncalculaling  re- 
sentment of  insulted  honor  nor  discover,  beneath  the  crust  of 
bravado,  an  uncompromising  self  respect  and  a  contempt  for 
dang«-r,  construed  it  all  as  a  sort  of  Chinese  display  of  absurd 
sentimentality.  They  caricatured  and  magnified  all  the  foibles 
and  follies  of  the  southern  cavalier.  The  most  absurd  or  the 
most  commonplace  event,  according  to  its  suitableness,  was  ac- 
ceptied  and  expounded  as  illustrating  southern  character,  while 
the  most  contemptible  of  southern  coxcombs  were  portrayed  as 
the  patterns  and  paragons  of  Virginia  chivalry.  This  artful  mis- 
representation of  tilings,  at  a  time  when  the  public  mind  of  the 
North  was  already  apologising  for  the  villainy  of  the  outlaws, 
had  much  to  d#in  creating  the  conviction  that  the  southern 
people  were  a  race  of  uneducated,  half-mad,  Quixotic  fools. 

When,  with  hearts  gangrened  with  hatred  and  envy,  the  in- 
tellicjevt  northern  freemen  read  in  their  favorite  journals  how  the 
judge  presiding  at  Charlestown  was  brutal,  the  Virginia  lawyers 
profane  and  bullying,  the  jurymen  ignorant  ^nd  cruel,  and  "the 
whole  population  habitually  drunk,  their  previous  speculative 
conjectures  a^umed  the  form  of  a  fixed  belief  that  their  southern 
brethern,  alas,  were  barbarous  in  spite  of  the  civilizing  influence 
of  the  Union. 

Thus  was  the  poison  of  ignorance  and  prejudice  accelerated  in 
its  circulation  in  northern  blood  ;  and,  before  the  trial  of  the  out- 
laws reached  its  cikI,  the  impression  began  to  be  pretty  general 
in  the  North,  that  John  Brown  w?^  the  victim  of  a  savage  and 


100 


7nE    TWO    RKnF.LLIONB  ; 


forocious  i»ei)|ilc  who  ilesu-ivel  tii •■  f  e  wlii.Ii  lu-  .*ai<l  JdIiii  lin.J 
desiiriieil  tor  ilieui. 

Tliotitjli  tlie  iiorllnTiiers  .|iv\v  llie-<e  |(re_Mi:nit  i<«ii<-!u'iiins  from 
the  lragii-<)<  oiiii<-  pe  toriii;in  es  it  (  liMilfs'ovvii.  siili!>r<pr  nt  inents* 
Ijave  shown  tlmt  the  oi-.;»«iori  lri.|  r.«I.e'i  to  ih  tr.-nuiiu'  a^  wi'll  hs 
foiintert'eit  heroi'8.  Aiiiuii^  thosi- nav  •  row.is  which  tonoiiliern 
eves,  seemed  «OIII|»0-<'il  ol"  ii(t1:ltei|  roxi-oitilis  ,n,|  swX'^sreriltcr 
huMies,  there  wcie  uiaiiv  choiie  s|»irits.  wln»se  iiaiiie<«  '^ave  siiu-o 
l>t'uiine  ihiii>rs  of  horror  to  the  vaiiain  Yankee.  Some  still  re- 
main. survivin;r  years  of  peril,  i<>- repeat  their  •!«'(•»!»  of  darwisj 
upon  new  fiel<ls  .jf  siife;  hut  mmiy,  jihi»^ 

"Sleep  jlhoir  l(H»rlpp|t.'  • 

nnl  will  n()t    lie  p^rinitted   to  he«r  -  of  praise   wl)ich 

I  heir  redeemel  cotintty  will  ve'i  soni  vt-n  for  ildiviTHnee. 

ll)\v  tliey  fell,  while  phin<rei|  .le-p  i  imiis  of  thi-  f<<v  or 

monntin;:^  the  summits  of  hoslilc'i-iirn-,.  inn  nt*',  a  iria<eful  imuh- 
try  cannot  fort^et ;  Rn«l  |»opii!ar  hallail  nr  lo<-al  fraditTdn  will  per- 
petuate tlieir  fame  anions;  thys<'  whom  llu'v  loved  mo-t. 

AmoiiLT  these,  ho\veveJ\  tinie  were  two  wlmm  the  voii-e  «>f 
ni-.nkiiid  his  pro,-l.«ime  I  iminorfrd  -.1  hl;«>n  and  A'ihhv.  Thev 
were  the  ('oiifederacy'"^  lirsr  love,  and  she  p>rserv.'s  their  memo- 
ry with  the  tenrterness  of  a  heaitdn'oken  vonth.  Wlnthor  re- 
joicinGf  over  victory  or  mournini;  over  dei'eat,  hack  to  tli"  past 
the  nation  ever  turns  and  litjofers  with  mournful  ])K;asure  overthe 
rerolleetion  of  her  most  dearly  heloved.  In  vain  will  the  intise 
'*  the  bv'Sr'''*"'^ ''*^'*^cn  of  invention  ascend"  to  yiaint  the  pure 
splenlor  of  their  glory.  I)o\vn  in  the  fathomless  depths  of  the 
(>)!ifederate  heart,  where  atfection  keeps  its  dearest  idols,  their 
inmLje  is  enshrined,  and  in  the  unwtiiteii  huiLifuage  of  devotion 
their  praises  are  sunij. 

Aiiioui;"  the  manv  dashinijf  <  avalieis  who,  jrlowinpf  with  mrutial 
ardor  and  a  romantic  attrichiii'nt  to  their  natixe  Stjite,  responded 
to  the  ciill  to  arms.  Turner  .Ashhv  was  fo  emost  lie  came  to 
war  as  to  a  feast,  and  seemed  elevated  ;m  I  transftiriied,  fiom  ihrf 
;,hii;'^ish  person  he  was  in  hiisiness.  info  :in  a -tive.  vi<ifilani  and 
eiieiiretic,  heini;,  under  the  inlhience  of  new  hopes  and  ni'w 
scenes.  His  kni^^htlv  mirn  and  supeil>  liorsemansh'p  attracted 
theiiotice:ind  exi-ilcd  the  admiration  of  all,  while  hi'^  calm  demean- 
or and  jjjonfle  manners  ipiite  w<->n  their  heartis..  Thefjlitterinc:  pa- 
jTCHiitry  of  holiday  parade,  which  stirred  tlie  majority  with  the 
mere  sentiment  of  jrh^-v,  excited  more  seriou<  ciiiotions  in  the 
projihotic  soul  of  Asliby.     Like  the  war  horse  of  .Fob,  ho  "snutVed 


on,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  I'U 

the  bKltie  tVoni  iifarV  ;in.l  saw,  in  the  harmless  show  arouml  him, 
the  opening  scciiri  of  Ji  Moody  |)erioil  hikI  tht?  promise  of  a  grand 
llifatr«  of  action.  .  A  i-avahv  captain  ilien,  his  observed  soldierly 
tjualilics  was  ihe  constajit  fliemc  of  popular  praise;  and  the  ap- 
plause which  (ollow«xl  liiin  foiesliadowed  Ids  future  pucc.ess,  whofi 
lie  was  to  become  llie  paragon  of  chivalry  and  the  ideal  of  south- 
ern lomauce  Like  :Iiai  of  the  knights  of  onl,  his  career  rather 
jllusiraicd  the  powcf  of  pelsonal  pt(>wes?  and  the  inlluence  of 
daring  examp'e  than  that  of  welUdireivted  military  talent.  Iji- 
spiriiig,  by  his  own  coMlii<-t.  an  nntrain.-d  but  resistless  valor.in 
jns  mau,  lie  ai-liimed  results  rathe)- tlirnngh  the  power  of  lovo 
and  fiym|)Mthy  than  through  that  of  ino<lern  discipline.  Had  he 
lived,  he  woidd,  ))robablv.  have  a''ailed  liimself  of  the  advnntageR 
of  scientiiii-  knowledge,  antl,  in  time,  have  beconie  a  gr'eat  and 
suice^sful  general.  lUit  he  fell  in  (lie  spiing  time  of  his  career, 
and  in  the  ir.oridng  of  his  fame;  andjhough  vears  have  elapsed, 
the  intiuence  of  "Ids  genius  is  still  seen  in  t^ie  unrivalled  dash  and 
gallantry  of  Idh  ojd  -  ofiimand. 

•lH'ku)n.  at  (y!  ai  Lfslcwii,  neilher  attracted  the  notice  of  thw 
crowd  or  excited  the  expectations  of  his  friends.  At  a  time  when 
the  ))ioplieti<'  popular  voire  was  deidaiing  the  heirs  to  futuro 
dist  iiction.  h  s  pale  faie  an<1  ungracefid  lorm  passe^l  unmarked 
amid  tite  tlhong  of  g<)ld->'overe1  (diieftains  who  adorned  the 
sc'iie.  Kcg;i:ded  a^^  a*d\ spcptic  martinet  aud  an  uninteresting 
liliie  I'resbNteiinn.  Hone  e\er  dreamed  <,>f  tlie  great  mind  and  he.- 
loic  8(iul  whiili  slund»ere4l  within  such  a  commonplace  exterior. 

War,  in  all  its  horrid  naked i  ess,  seemed  necessary  to  develop 
the  grand  points  of  his  character.  Like,  the  goddess  of  an- 
tiipiity.  who.'ie  brightne.-is  only  shone  andd  tlie  blinding  <larkne8s 
and  fiiry  of  the  storm,  it  was  only  andd  the  tempest  of  conflict- 
ing liosis  iliat  the  splendor  of  his  gieatness  was  vi.iible.  It  was 
then  that  the  inmost  d»'pllis  of  Ids  nature  was  stirred  ;  and,  equal 
to  the  occasion,  his  geidus.  God-bke,  soared  sublime.  Cajitivating 
his  soldiers  with  m  kindni-ss  and  spnipalhy  which  was  almost 
heaveidy.  and  elevating  them  into  a  lofty  contempt  for  danger 
by  a  calmness  that  seeine«i  lo  denv  its  existence,  he  hurled  them 
jn  jrrcsislible,  masses  upon  the  enemy.  Under  the  im])nlse  of  his 
iron  will,  imjiossybilities  were  made  easy;  and  time  and  space  an- 
nihilated by  the  rapidity  of  his  movements,  litit,  the  beauty  of 
his  life  was  niore  admiiable  than  the  magnificence  of  his  genius. 
Within  the  rough  casket  were  proiions  virtues  whose  radianct^ 
weie  retU-cied  in  his  daily  condu't.  With  an  abi<ling  tru.st  in 
God,  he  pej funned   the  appaiaully    most  trival  (initios,  with  li»tJ 


102  TnE    TW«-»    REBEI.TTONS; 

same  fearfulncss  tliat  he  enijanred  in  battle.  •  But,  when  once  he 
li.id  doterminod,  the  thunder  of  hostile  oannon  or  the  threatening 
advance  of  sorrie<l  cohiinns  were  as  powerless,  to  change  his  pur- 
pos^o,  M  th<'  frown  of  a  child.  With  none  of  that  loftv  heroic 
jiride  which. fortune  seems  to  love,  the  fickle  };o<l(les9  was  yet  a 
constant  minion  in  his  train.  Llumiliiy  exemplifieil  in  him  over- 
threw armio-s  and  evory  victory  seemed  an  oMation  to  (Jod.  'i  he 
glory  of  his  life  culiiiinate<.l  at  its  close,  and  the  lovintj  gentle- 
ne.*is  that  was  exhibited  in  the  agonies  oC  death,  tilled  np  the 
nmasiire  of  his  greatness. 

When  Jackson  die<l  the  Confederacy  wept ;  and  the  sincere 
Jament^itions  of  distant  nations  prolonged  the  anthem  which  fol- 
lowed liim  to  his  grave.  The  copious  showers  of  grief,  which 
relieved  the  aching  heart  of  soutli«rn  women,  no  less  than  the 
.scalding  tear,  which  burned  the  Confcnlerate  soldier's  manly 
cheek,  attested  a  nation's  love  ;  while  the  unfeigned  tributes,  from 
his  country's  enemies  and  from  stingers  in  foreign  lands,  pro- 
claimed that  liis  death  had  wrung  with  socrow  the  heart  of 
civilized  mankind. 


CHAPTKR    XXIV. 

TRIAI-  OF  THE  REDELS — DROWN  DKCI.ARES  MARTYRDOM — KXECU- 
TIOS*  OF  THE  APOSTLE  OF  AUOLITIOK  AND  THE  TKHMt'HAL  PRO- 
CESSION   or    HIS    SACRED    RELICS    TIIROLCH    THE    NORTH. 

While  this  potty  prologue  to  real  war  was  being  pronounced 
by  the  .sensitive  spirits  of  Virginia,  John  lirown  and  his  com- 
rades were  quietly  reposing  in  the  jail  of  Charlestown,  await- 
ing the  detoriuinatiou  of  their  fate.  This,  Virginia  proceeded 
to  ascertain,  according  to  the  established  forms  of  law,  and 
in  spito  of  the  manifest  disposition  of  some  of  the  more  vio- 
lent, to  visit  summary  vengeance  upon  the  exultant  murderers. 
The  outcry  against  them  was  great,  and  was  increased  by  the 
apprehousion  that  chanoo,  or  a  desperate  effort  on  the  part  of 
their  many  northern  sympathisers,  might  let  them  loose  once 
more  to  orcy  jipon  society.  Organiacd  troojis  became  as  neces- 
sary to  represa  the  violence  of  the  xuub,  as  to  anticipate  every 


OR,    TREASON    rXMASKEl).  103 

attempt  at  I'escue  or  escape.  The  madness  of  the  latter  was 
plain,  but  was  not  thou'i;ht  improbable,  when  the  past  was  con- 
sidered. It  was  certainly  more  rational  to  attempt  a  rescue  of 
the  prisoners,  than  to  assail  the  power  of  the  Federal  and  State 
governments;  and  this  had  been  attempted.  The  same  political 
intriguers  who  had  devised  and  moved  the  one,  could  easily 
find  fools  enough  to  attempt  the  other.  Besides,  the  practica- 
bility of  these  things  was  not  an  element  considered.  Political 
effect,  in  creating  sectional  bitterness,  was  the  primary  object; 
and  that,  either  partial  success  or  complete  defeat  was  certain 
to  produce.  Perhaps,  it  would  have  been  better  for  the  South, 
if  the  criminals  had  been  rescued  and  a  border  war  then  com- 
menced with  the  hordes  of  abolition.  ]Jut  it  is  unprofitable  to 
speculate  upon  the  advantages  of  war.  It  may  safely  be  sur- 
mised that  it  always  comes  soon  enough,  and  that  he  who 
postpones  it  without  sacrificing  the  honor  of  the  State,  is  a 
public  benefactor. 

John  Brown  and  his  comrades  were  indicted  for  treason, 
murder,  and  an  attempt  to  excite  servile  insurrection  among 
the  slaves.  Upon  the  first  count  of  the  indictment,  questions 
arose  as  to  the  definition  of  treason  against  a  State.  Hence, 
came  up  the  qixestion  of  State  sovereignty;  and,  in  this  case,  as 
aftorward.s  occurred  when  the  citizens  of  the  State  met  in  con- 
fliot  the  soldiers  of  the  federal  government,  that  doctrine  was 
adopted,  by  cither,  which  justified  their  conduct.  Those 
metaphysical  subtleties,  with  which  the  profound  federalists  of 
Virginia  had  demonstrated  the  propriety  of  federal  assumption 
of  power,  vani.shed  before  the  troncBant  logic  of  alarming 
facts.  Upon  the  other  counts  of  the  indictment,  but  a  feeble 
resistance  was  made,  as  both  the  testimony  and  the  law  was 
overwhelming.  The  counsel  of  the  prisoners  were  permitted  to 
resort  to  all  those  technical  impediments  to  judgment  which 
the  law  of  Virginia,  bending  towards  the  side  of  mercy,  affords 
to  the  accu.sed.  Their  ingenuity  was,  however,  finally  ex- 
hausted, and  the  trial  sonn  ueared  its  end.  The  greatest  dif- 
ficulty was  to  obtain  an  impartial  jury.  The  feeling  of  resent- 
ment against  the  outlaws  was  so  intense  that,  most  of  those 
selected  by  the  sheriff",  when  examined  upon  oath,  admitted 
that  their  opinions,  already  formed  upon  the  merits  of  the 
case,  prevented  them  from  giving  the  criminals  a  fair  trial. 
One  man,  upon  being,asked,  if  he  had  any  scruples  about  in- 
fiicfini:  capital  puni.shmc'it.  roplied  that  he  formerly  had,  but, 
since   the   arrival   of  Brown   and   his   Confederates,  he   had 


h'l  Tia;    TWO    l-.LUf  LLlt..\S  ; 

chungeJ  liis  opiniuiis  uuU  bclicvcvi  tijutil  WU6  aLsuiutclj\liOC06- 
sar)  to  bang  iK;c;isioually, 

Fiiuillv,  all  the  to.'Ntiiuuny  had  lioisi  licaid  ;  aud  tlu:  Icarucd 
cuuiK^el,  whuiii  prdiuiiiciit  ultu!iti(jij:.>-i.<  bud  pruciirud  iroiu  ihe 
Nurtli,  cuiicluded  tlicir  lust  objectKHi  and  nmiuied  tbuii  lut>t 
period.  The  jury  were  insLructed  and,  retiriui;  t'roui  ilie  emit 
ruoiu,  they,  in  a  short  time,  rclurnod  t-o  render  their  verdict. 
Thit^  was  rendered  in  the  Uiid.st  ol  a  breuthiq^'^s  iua^j  ui  ti{K-e(i>tO!S 
usseuiblcd  i'nim  all  parts  <it'  the  whole  couulry.  it  Jeibied  ihe 
prisouero  guilty  of  all  the  c  lUiit.s  in  the  indictmeut.  The  .ver- 
dict wa8  i>ne  which  all  cx]>eeted.  and  yet  it^  annnuuceuunt 
seemed  to  aff<.ird  great  nliel".  The  clerk  a.>«ked  Hmwn.  if  ho 
could  ashiiin  any  reason  why  sentence  of  de;itli  ."-houlil  not  bo 
passed  upon  hliu.  Brown  rw.se  up  to  the  heif;ht  of  his  full 
stature  and,  with  a  countenance  now,  lor  the  Hist  time,  uiani- 
festing  iear  and  apprehension,  spoke  ajs  iWllows  : 

"  I  have,  may  it  pleiise.  the  court,  a  iew  words  to  .s;ty.  Jn 
the  first  plucQ,  /  </e//_y  i  ctri/tltimj  but  whtit  1  /tav<  nil  nlumj  ad- 
viiltiil,  of  a  (Irsi'i/ii  on  vi//  jjml  tn  jfif  .^/'/i7.s.  i  intended,  ceiv 
tainly,  to  have  made  a  clear  thinij;  of  th;it  nnitter,  n.-^  L  did  i:\st 
winter -when  1  went  into  Missuuri.  iUid  tlieie  todk  sl:ive.-  with 
out  the  snaiipin<;  of  a  ;j;un  on  either  side.  1  ini.ved  tlu-ni 
throu;,di  the  country,  and  finally  leit  tiiein  in  Uanadj.  1  de 
sif.Mied  to  have  done  the  same  thing  ii^u in  on  a  laij:ei  scalo. 
That  was  all  1  intended.  /  nfvii-  il'ul  initial  munUr  ar triit»nn^ 
or  the  ileatrurtion  of  pro^iety  or  to  ixcite  sluvinAo  rdtllion  ot- 
to vinke  insurrection." 

"  1  have  another  oljjection,  and  that  is,  it. is  unjust  that  I 
should  suffer  such  a  penalty.  Had  1  interferred  in. the  man- 
ner, which  1  admit  has  been  I'alrly  proved.  (f(»r  I  admire  tho 
trutlil'ulness  and  candor  of  the  greater  pi.rticn  (d'  the  witnesses 
who  have  testified  in  this  case,)' — had  t  so  interferred,  in  be- 
half of  the  rich  and  jKiwerfub  the  intelligent,  the  so  called 
great,  or  in  behalf  nf  any  of  their  Iriends.  citiien  father  (.r 
loofher,  bnithcr  or  sister,  wile  or  children,  <ir  any  of  that  clas.s, 
and  suffered  and  sacrificed  what  1  have  in  this  iniortcrcnce,  it 
Wcuild  have  been  all  right,  and  t.his  ci'Urt  wmild  have  deemed 
it  an  act  worthy  of  reward,  rather  than  punishment.  Thiu 
court  acknowledges,  too,  1  suppose,  the  validity  of  the  law  of 
(iod.  I  see  a  bitok  kissed  here,  which,  1  suppose,  to  be  a  bible, 
or,  at  least,  the  new  testament.  1'hat  teaches  me  that  all 
things,  whatsoever,  1  wiuihi  men  should  do  unto  mc,  I  should 
do  so  eveu  to  them,  •  It  teaches  uie  lurther.  to  rcuiember  thei» 


OR,    TREASON    UNMASKED. 


105 


that  are  in  bonds,  as  bniuled  with  them.  I  endeavored  to  act 
up  to  these  iustmotioiis.  1  say,  1  am  jet  too  young  i.o  under- 
stand that  God  is  any  respecter  of  persons.  1  believe,  that  to 
have  interferred,  as  1  have  done,  in  behalf  of  his  despised 
poor,  was  no  \vron<i;,  but  ri<:ht.  Now,  if  it  is  deemed  necessary 
that  I  should  forfeit  my  Hie  for  the  furtherance  of  the  ends  of 
justice,  and  mingle  my  blood  further  with  the  blood  of  n)y 
children,  and  with  the  blood  of  the  millions  in  this  slave  coun- 
try, w.ho.se  rights  are  disregarded  by  wicked,  cruel,  and  unjust 
enactxuents,  I  submit.  So  let  it  be  done.  Let  me  say  one 
word  further,'!  feel  entirely  satisfied  with  the  treatment  I  have 
received  on  my  trail.  Considering  all  the  circumstances,  it  has 
been  more  generous  than  I  expected,  but  I  feel  no  conscious- 
ness ot  guilt.  1  have  stated  from  the  first,  what  were  my  in- 
tentions and  whalwere  not.  I  in'iur  hadmn/  dvsijn  (hjdiiisf.  the 
lij'f  I,;  initf  ixrsitii,  uriDiy  </iyji')sif.ion  to  ctjinmit  treason  or  incite 
thi  .slfii-f's  /o  refill,  oc  mukf  mn/  (jt-neral  inanrrection.  I  never 
encouraged  any  man  to  do  so,  but  always  discouraged  any  idea 
of  that  kind.  Let  me  say  also,  in  regard  to  the  statements 
m-ide  by  some  of  those  connected  with  me.  I  fear  it  has  been 
stated  by  some  of  them  that  I  have  induced  them  to  join  me. 
But  the  contrary  is  true.  I  do  not  say  this  to  injure  them, 
but,  a.s  regretting  their  weakness.  There  is  none  of  them  but 
what  joined  me  of  his  own  accord,  and  the  greater  part  at 
their  own  expense.  A  number  of  them  I  never  saw,  and  never 
had  a  conversation  with  till  the  day  they  came  to  me,  and  that 
was  for  the  piurpose  I  have  stated.     Now  I  have  done." 

While  Brown  was  speaking,  great  quiet  prevailed.  When 
he  had  finished,  tlie  court  proceeded  to  pronounce  sentence. 
After  some  preliminary  remarks,  in  which  the  judge  (Parker,) 
said,  that  no  reasonable  doubt  could  exist  as  to  guilt  of  the 
prisoner,  the  court  sentenced  him  to  be  hung  on  the  2nd 
December. 
.  8u(.'h  was  the  speech,  word  for  word,  made  by  Brown.  It 
was  republished  in  most  of  the  northern  papers.  If  any  one 
will  turn  b.ick  and  eoniftare  it  with  what  he  told  Governi>r 
^^  ise,  the  morning  ol  his  capttire,  he  will  discover  a  flat  denial 
in  the  last  of  what  w;i«  truun|>hantly  asserted  in  the  first.  To 
Wise,  he,  substantially,  says  that  he  came  South  to  revolution- 
ize the  government  and  overthrow  her  whole  social  fabric,  by 
means  oi"  the  slaves  and  the  disaffected  non-slavehoMerg.  For 
this  purpose,  he  liad  brought  jagged  spears,  for  the  untaught 
African,  and  rifles  fur  the  more  iotelligeut  whites.     All  his 


lOG  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

correspondence  shnw.--   that  such  wore   his  intentions ;  and  alll 
his  abolition  sympathizers  boa^^f  of  atxl  adrtiire  him.  beca.usc  he< 
liad  the  heart  to  conceive  it  and  the  nerve  to  attempt  it.     Hiii 
provisional  constitution  is  based  upon  the  idea  of  a  peneral  up-i 
hcavinfi:  of  the  social  and   political  institutions  of   the   South; 
and  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  a  doubt,  from  his  own  acts  and  dec- 
larations, as  well  as  thuse  of.his  professed  friends  and  admirers, 
that  such  was  the  object  of  the  treasonable  conspiracy,  of  which 
he  was  the  open  conductor. 

This  was  what  k'<:itiuiized  and  sanctified,  in  the  opinion  of 
abolitionistsf  his  arsons  and  murders,  and  invested  hinj  with 
the  character  of  a  divinely  cummissioned  hero. 

And  yet,  alas!  fur  pour  iVail  human  nature,  when  the  judge, 
with  the* fearful  black  cap  sits  before  him,  ready  prepared  to 
pronounce  his  doom,  the  yreat  apostle  of  abolitionism  trembles 
and  denies  his  faith.  IJeforc  the  earthly  tribunal,  almost,  and, 
indeed,  prCtendinf;  to  be,  certain  of  his  fate;  with  the  eyes  of 
his  enemies  upon  him,  while  thousands  of  his  worshippers,  at 
a  distance,  arc  waiting  to  hear  of  the  triumphant  declaration  of 
his  mission  and  his  calm  acceptance  of  martyrdom;  yet,  under 
all  these  stimulating  circumstances,  with  not  the  brazen  hardi- 
hood of  an  ordinary  convict,  he  repudiates  his  destiny  and 
equivocates  aud  lies  in  his  desire  to  move  the  mercy  of  the 
judge. 

In  order  to  understand  this  apostacy  of  Brown,  in  the  very 
crisis  of  his  fate,  it  is  proper  to  recur  to  some  other  facts  which 
liave  not  been  mentioned.  Most  of  the  northern  press,  yield- 
ing to  the  violent  clamor  of  the  blatant  abolitionists,  had  urged 
npon  Governor  Wise  the  expediency  of  pardoning  IJrown,  or 
commuting  his  sentence  to  one  of  solitar}'  contineujcnt  for  life. 
With  specious  sophistry,  they  argued  that  such  an  act  of  exec- 
utive clemency  would  declare  the  magnanimity  of  Virginia,  de- 
prive the  abolitionists  of  their  thunder,  aud  conciliate  the 
moderates  of  the  Xorth. 

J'rivatc  attacks,  too,  were  made  upon  his  firmness,  and  he 
was  encouraged  to  hope  that  such  a  betrayal  of  his  trust  would 
not  only  act  as  oil  to  the  troubled  waters,  but  ht-cure  him  polit- 
ical strength  with  the  national  demoaiacy.  [Kor  Governor 
Wise  was  then  a  prominent  candidate  for  the  deuiocratic  nom- 
ination for  the  presidency.]  In  this  way.  the  impression  began 
to  prevail  with  some  people  that  l^rowu  ha<l  yet  some  hope  of 
life.  IJrowu  caught  at  the  hope  as  a  drowning  man  is  said  to 
catch  at  a  straw;  and,  fearful  of  death,  iu  the  preseuce  of  the 


OK,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  *     lu7 

court,  denied  his  ever  having  ent5ttained  radical  designs;  and 
thus,  by  his  very  cuuuiug  effort  to  preserve  his  life,  betrayed 
plainly  his  real  character  and  solicited  for  himself  the  igno- 
minious punishment  which  he  so  Well  deserved. 

Afterwards,  when  Governor  Wise  informed  him,  in  prison, 
that  there  was  no  room  for  hope,  he  again  returned  to  his  first 
declarations,  and  edified  his  disciples  with  long-winded  epistles 
about  the  glorious  death  which  awaited  him.  Seated  in  his 
cell,  in  Charlestown,  he  passed  the  lust  fleeting  moments  of  his 
existence  in  inditing  words  of  comfort  to  the  faithful.  The 
voluminous  and  remarkable  manuscripts  which,  through  the 
mail,  bore  houuige  (u  his  greatness  from -all  parts  of  the  North, 
were  rare  specimens  for  the  lovers  of  the  curious.  Marble- 
hearted  philosophers  could  not  have  perused,  with  dry  eyes, 
their  pathetic  language  of  devotion,  while  the  most  erudite 
pantheist  Would  have  been  startled  at  the  novel  theories  of  a 
hereafter^  explained  in  their  contents. 

/sm.s,  which  had  never  before  been  heard  of  in  the  South, 
of  every  possible  hue  and  variety,  were  there  d"iscovered  as  al- 
lies of  abolitionism.  Spiritualists,  sentimentalists,  and  social- 
ists, of  every  conceivable  description,  in  sentences  of  compli- 
ment and  adoration,  which  profaned  and  blasphemed  as  they 
went,  furnished  stimulants  to  the  doubting  heart  of  the  blood- 
stained villain. 

*  One  person,  a  woman  I  think,  wrote  to  ask  him  to  take  a 
message  to  her  beloved,  whom  she  represented  as  enjoying  the 
fruits  of  his  abolition  efforts  while  on  earth,  in  the  land  of  lib- 
erty beyond  the  skies;  and,  in  order  that  he  might  recognize 
the  dead  one  for  whom  the  message  was  intended,  she  enclosed 
his  phofof/raph.  Of  such  was  the  ma.ss  who  idolized  John 
Brown,  and  such  like  are  those'who  now  wage  the  most  bar- 
barous of  all  wars  upon  the  soithern  people. 

No  doubt,  if  the  truth  could  be  ascertained,  upon  investiga- 
tion, it  would  be  found  that  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of 
the  North  entertain  religious  opinions,  or  rather  irreligious 
opinions,  which  more  nearly  resemble  downright  infidelity  and 
atheism  than  Christianity.  Amid  the  engro.ssing  pursuits  which 
the  present  war  has  engendered  in  the  North,  it  has,  perhaps, 
not  been  profitable  to  gather  statistics  concerning  the  spread  of 
the  respective  infidel  creeds.  Some  curious  Yankee,  however, 
has  amused  himself  with  estimating  the  increase  of  the  epirit- 
ualiatic  belief.  •  As  the  result  of  his  investigation,  he  gives 


103  THE    TWO    RKBELMONS; 

« 

the  alarmincf  fact  tliat  there  are  now  six  huudred  thousand 
professing  spiritualists  ira  that  illuniinatcdjund. 

If  the  oilier  respec(;iMe  as  well  as  \  ijltrnr  isms  have  iiicieased 
nt  a  siiililar  rate,  the  nuiitlier  of  ortlioilox  (InistiMiis  reinaiiiinfr 
iftsiiiall  in.ieed.  Supported  l>v  the  Hiroiiix  jirlHii-ial,  setitiineiital 
stuff,  with  which  he  was  liailv  sii|iplied  thiouirlLthe  mail.  I>r<i\\ti 
<  oiitemplated  hin  roniinq;   inanvniom   with   iiwreased  <  ahniiess. 

From  the  suMime  iM'iiriits  i)f  ^am  tilv,  to  which  vanity  and 
flattery  had  raised  him,  he  ltfo;in  to  rc^jard  his  itrnorant  perse- 
i'utors  with  feelintrs  more  rcseml>liii<j  coiiieu>pt  tlian  hatr'-il.  To 
all  slaveholders  who,  out  of  mere  cut io>itv,  wt-nt  tf)  see  him.  hi- 
iii;iiiner  was  that  of  a  man  w-lio  had  lK'«*n  dot*  Iv  wronijcil;  wh" 
knesv  if,  l>ut  did  not  resent  it.  His  <liaritv.  liow«'ver.  souiciimc^ 
manifested  itself  in  jndral  lectures,  which  partook  more  of  llic 
\  cliemciit  invective  style  than  the  exhortative.  Hspe«-ially  if  any 
Cliiislian  minister,  from  motives  of  kindnnss,  went  to  olf.*r  him, 
in  his  desolateness,  the  c(Uisolation»  of  reii>.;itin.  Upon  liiui  ho 
would  let  out  all  his  gall  of  hitterness,  tellincr  him,  in  tlie  liisl 
place,  that  he  (Brown)  was  better  posted  on  the  bihie  than  any 
other  man  North  or  South,  an<l  that  when  he  was  in  want  of  In- 
formation he  should  not  prohaMv  ap|)lv  for  it  ton  heathen. 

In  this  wav,  scriblilint,' sermons  to  his  disciples,  expoundinjr  the 
mystery  of  human  rights  to  all  wlu>  wouhl  listen,  and  throwint; 
out  jilain- hints  to  the  southern  ministers  of  the  torture  re.<erved 
for  tli.-m,  hti  ])reparen  himself  for  his  final  departure  from  earth 

At  the  day  appointed,  necend)er  2tl,  ISo'J.  under  a  stronj; 
guard  of  soldier.s,  he  was  conducted  to  the  gallows,  and,  there, 
in  sight  of  tlie  beautiful  country,  a  prtitlon  of  whitdi  he  had 
hoped  one  day  to  po.sse.s.*,  he  suHV-red  tlie  extreme  penalty  of  the 
law. 

N<;ar  the  spot  where  he  was  hung,  a  tree  stood,  .\ftei  wards, 
vhen  the  Yankee  .soldier-  took  pi  sse*;sion  of  the  town,  some 
negro  told  them  that  Urown  had  Im  en  hung  upon  that  tree. 
'J'lioy  forcwith  cut  it  down  and,  hewing  out  li  tie  jiieces.  scut 
them  home  a?  rare  relics  to  their  families. 

The  body  was  given  up  to  his  wife  who.  en<lo-ing  it  in  a  me 
tallie  coflin,  carried  it  to  North  Rba.  New  York.  The  ariival 
of  the  corpse  in  riiila<lelphia  and  New  York  was,  in  a  great 
measure,  convealed  from  the  po\)ulace,  thiough  the  strenuou'^ 
eflorts  of  the  police;  and,  though  ciowds  weie  on  the  qui-rin 
to  receive  with  honor  the  sacred  relics,  tie  a<-livity  anil  vigilant, 
of  the  police  succeeded  in  keeping  it  a  profouiid  secret  fioni.thc 
many.     As  it  juoceeded  further   Noi  ili,  how  vvei,  such  was  not 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  109 

tlie  cnsc  In  several  towns  the  news  of  its  arrival  was  the  signal 
for  popular  deiiionsyation.  The  heart-rending  spectacle  of  the 
"murdered  hero,"  in  several  instances,  moved  the  mob  to  tears; 
and  the  universal  interest,  manifesto  !  among  the  northern  masses, 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  popular  sympathy  for  the  villain  was, 
beyond  all  expectation,  wide-spread. 

Upon  the  day  appointed  for  his  execution,  a  molion  for  ad- 
journment out  of  respect  to  the  sacredness  of  the  day,  was  lost 
in  the  Massaidiusetts  8tate  Senate,  by  three  votes  ;  while  in  many 
of  the  towns  in  that  pestilent  State  the  bells  of  their  temples 
were  tolled,  and  congregations  of  the  faithful  assembled  to  con- 
secrate the  day  with  their  heathen  ceremonies. 

The  body  was  carried  to  N<arth  Elba  and,  after  being  kept  in 
state  for  a  short  time,  was  followed  to  the  grave  by  troops  of 
canting  abolitionists.  There,  with  a  simple  monument  to  mark 
the  spot,  it  still  rests,  and  the  frei^uent  pilgrimages  to  the  seques- 
tered spot  has  made  North  Ell>»  a  sort  of  modern  Mecca  for  the 
disciples  of  the  abolition  Apostle, 


CHAPTER    -XXV. 

THE  FATE  OF  THE  OTHER  REBELS. 

The  rest  of  the  conspirators  were  disposed  of  in  the  same 
manner  as  their  chief,  though  the  interest  of  the  northern  public 
seemed  to  have  been  centred  in  Bi-own. 

Cook,  his  second  in  command  at  the  outbreak,  deserves  some 
notice,  from  the  fact  of  his  betrayal  of  his  chief  and  the  great 
effort  made  to  save  his  life  by  influential  connections.  lie  was 
the  brother-in-law  of  the  Governor  of  Indiana,  and  bo  pains  were 
spared  to  save  the  family  from  the  disgra<-e  of  his  execution  upon 
the  gallows. 

Cook,  as  we  have  already  seen,  deserted  old  Brown  in  his  hour 
of  need  at  the  Ferry;  and  endeavored  to  secure  himself  by  an 
early  retreat.  His  long  stay  at  the  Ferry,  previous  to  the  insur- 
rectionary attempt,  had  probably  convinced  him  of  the  madness 
of  the  s(  heme  ;  and  lie  only  participated  far  eflough  to  obtain 
some  treasure  and  valuables  from  the  fmrn  houses  he  visitc<l; 
M-ben  it  ajipearf  he  made  olf  with  his  plunder  to  the  niounliuns. 
10 


110  ini  TAvo  rebellions; 

Ik'  was  soon  cau2:lit,  however,  and  securely  lodged  in  jail.  When 
once  tiiert^,  the  appieli^nsions  of  just  pijnisj^nicnt  for  his  rrinies 
quite  banished  the  airy  fabric  of  sentimental  sopliistry,  with 
which  he  had  soothed  the  few  pan<rs  of  conscience  he  ex])ejienced 
in  the  perpetration  of  his  many  villainies.  Like  Brown,  ahan* 
doninix  his  professed  creed,  he  confessed  some  of  liis  crimes  and 
pleaded  for  mercy,  lie  even  disreixarded  those  oblifxalions  of 
false  honor  which  are  the  last  to  be  abandoned  by  thieves,  and, 
with  a  hope  of  obtainini;  par-ion  as  a  reward  for  his  trciuhery, 
told  all  he  knew  against  his  confederates,  lint  his  cowardii-e 
availed  him  little.  He  only  excited  contempt  insteail  of  pity, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  elotjuent  efl'orts  of  his  counsel,  was  condemned 
to  be  hung.  »" 

Like  lirown.  too,  when  all  hope  was  lost,  lie  sought  to  reinstate 
liimself  in  the  good  opinion  of  his  former  admirer.s.  He  wrote 
verses  and  pathetic  prose,  to  ids  northern  friends,  about  the 
"glorious  cause"  and  pretended  to  look  forward  with  pleasure, 
tn  the  glorious  time  of  his  apotheosis. 

Confined  in  the  same  room  with  Cook  was  a  fellow-sufi'erer 
by  the  name  of  Coppic.  Concerning  this  worthy,  all  that  is 
known  is  obtained  from  a  letter  written  by  an  old  Quaker  in  tlie 
northwest,  who  .seems  to  have  raised  him.  lie  bewails  the  sad 
fate  that  has  befallen  his  apprentice,  and  seems  to  take  a 
sort  of  mournful  pleasure  in  fin<lii)g  that  the  "vicious  boy,"  who 
woul<i  heed  no  admonitions  of  wisdom,  has,  at  last,  reaclu**!  that 
'state  of  misfortune  which  he  had  always  predicted  was  in  reserve 
for  him. 

In  conjunction  with  this  soldier  of  freedom,  Cook  conceived 
the  plan  of  making  one  bold  efiort  to  esca])o  from  jtrison.  He- 
moving  the  bricks  from  under  the  sill  of  the  window  of  their 
cell  and  filing  off,  by  meaws  ot  a  hacked  ]io(ket-knife,  their  fci- 
ters,  they,  one  dark  and  rainy  night,  descended  and  found  them- 
selves wUhin  the  jail  yarti  free  and  unfettered.  A  low  wall  of 
brick,  beyond  which,  at  intervals  of  twenty  paces,  sentinels  kept 
watch,  was  all  that  lay  between  them  and  freedom.  Leaning 
asrainst  the  wall  were  the  beams  and  planks  of  the  scaffold  upon 
which  they  were  expected  to  .spend  their  last  moments.  The 
circumstances  were  sufficitnt  to  have  nerved  a  child  to  make  one 
desperate  effort  for  life.  Mounting  the  wall,  they  were  about  to 
make  the  leap,  wlien  one  of  the  sentries  hearing  the  noise,  filed 
his  jtie<e  at  them.  Paialy/.ed  with  fear,  these  two  heroes  of  ab- 
olitionism retreated  back  to  the  jail  and  gave  themselves  up. 
Nobody  was  astonished  at  their  attempt  to   esc»pe,  but  peo]ile 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  Ill 

smiled  when  they  discovered  that  these  champions  of  an  oppressed 
race  had  not  tiie  resolution  to  hazard  something  to  secure  tlieir 
own  lives  and  liberties.  Not  long  afterwards,  Cook,  Coppic  and 
tlie  rest  of  the  piratical  crew  were  hung,  and  the  list  of  abolition 
martyrs  was  again  increased. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 


E\D    OF    THR    FIRST    REBELLION ITS    CONNECTION    "OtlTH     THAT    OF 

1861  -THE     CHARACTER    AND     OHJECT     OF     THE     GREAT     INSUR- 
KECTION. 

Thus  ended  the  first  rebellion.  It  was  conceived  in  iniquity, 
born  in  sin,  and  met  with  the  violent  end  it  merited.  Though 
its  avowed  object  was  unaccomplished,  the  blow  struck  con- 
tributed much  towards  it,  and  the  designs  of  its  instigators 
were  certainly  crowned  tvith  success.  The  blood  that  it  cost, 
stimulated  disunion;  and  the  mutual  bitterness  and  heartburn- 
ings, which  it  engendered  throughout,  the  country,  were  the 
dragon's  teeth  from  which  sprang  crops  of  armed  men.  Like 
the  war  which  followed  it,  it  wasablessing  in  disguise;  though 
its  fruits  have  not  entirely  been  made  manifest.  It  is  a  part, 
and  was,  in  some  measure,  the  occasion  of  the  present  struggle. 
It  familiarized  the  northern  mind  with  the  idea  of  intestine 
conflict.  It  robbed  the  grim-vissaged  monster  of  his  revolting 
novelty,  and  baptized  him  the  god-child  of  abolition  and  the 
champion  of  the  oppressed. 

Perverted  as  the  whole  aifair  was  in  northern  journals,  it  not 
only  served  to  excite  the  resentment  of  the  North,  but  it  con- 
vinced them  of  the  weakness  of  the  South,  and  of  their  own 
power.  They  felt  no  longer  constrained  to  treat  as  an  equal  a 
section  wliich  they  had  long  hated  and  feared,  but  now  began 
to  regard  as  an  inferior  in  merit  and  strength.  Spurning  what 
they  considered  as  the  exploded  idea  of  southern  power,  they 
gave  full  rein  to  the  many  evil  passions  which  they  had  enter- 
tained. They  elaborated  their  wild  notions  of  free  soil  and 
Americ.in  destiny,  treating  with  contemptuous  indifference  the 
possible  objections  of  the  South. 

While  its  moral  effect,  io  thus  consummating  that  revolution 


112  THE    TWO    REBELLIONS; 

of  opinion  which  for  years  had  been  slowly  patherinp:  8trcncth 
in  the  North,  was  great,  ito  political  consequence.*!  were  imme- 
diate and  8i<;niticant.  Sectional  animosity,  which  was  the 
source  of  vitality  to  the  republican  organization,  was  inflamed 
to  that  degree  of  fever  heat,  when  the  admonitions  of  reason 
are  not  heard  amid  the  raging  tempest  of  passion  Profiting  by 
the  storm,  the  rejmblican  leaders,  whose  political  ambition  was 
stimulated  by  bitter  personal  hostility  to  southern  gentleuieu, 
then  threw  off  still  more  of  the  mask  and  proclaimed  the  doc- 
trine of  irrepressible  conflict.  The  "music  of  the  Union" was 
drowned  amid  the  mere  mutterings  of  the  approaching  revolu- 
tion. The  obligations  of  the  federal  compact  needed  only  to  be 
mentioned  t4)  call  forth  derision,  and  all  sense  of  reason,  pro- 
priety, and  decency  were  lost  in  the  in.sanity  of  the  hour. 

In  anticipation  of  conflict,  party  organization  assumed  a 
military  character  ;  national  wide-awake  clubs  weve  formed  and 
the  able-bodied  members  drilled  in  the  exerci.<es  of  war.  Illu- 
minations and  bonfires,  processions  and  popular  gatherings,  cel- 
ebrated the  coming  triumphs  of  the  implacable  enemies  of  the 
South.  The  frenzy  was  almost  universal,  and  tho.>:e  who  still 
retained  some  glimmerings  of  rea.son,  were  hclfiless  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  mighty  flood  which  threatened  to  engulf  all  who 
resisted.  "  Fuci/is  (fcscciisiis  Arrrni,"  and  rapid  indeed  is  the 
progress  in  evil  of  a  people  who,  for  the  gratification  of  evil 
pa.ssions,  shut  their  eyes  to  the  obligations  of  duty. 

Popular  sympathy  with  abolition  conspirators,  whose  despica- 
ble crimes  merited  the  detestation  of  all  good  citizens,  was  but 
a  sign  of  coming  events  which  soon  occurred.  Sympathy  with 
one  act  of  rebellion,  manil'ested  a  disposition  to  approve  a  sim- 
ilar undertaking;  and  the  diabolical  chiefs  of  the  anti-southern 
party,  took  advantage  of  the  occasion.  Thus  is  the  connection 
betwe(Tn  the  first  and  second  rebellions  shorfand  simple.  For 
the  outbreak  at  the  Ferry  was  the  first  rcbclliitn,  with  John 
lirown  for  its  nominal  leader.  The  second,  though  plotted  for 
a  long  time,  was  publicly  organized  by  Seward,  (irecly  ^:  Co., 
at  (yhicago,  the  following  year. 

The  (yhicago  Convention  was  the  grand  consoliilation  of  the 
numerous  rebellious  movements  which,  for  years  had  been 
springing  up  and  gathering  strength  in  the  North.  The  Chi- 
cago platform  was  the  common  "  jilan  of  action,"  tipon  which 
they  all  agreed,  for  the  sake  of  overthrowing  their  common 
enemy — the  constitution.  Over  it,  all  the  factious  interests, 
rampant  radicalisms,  and  insurrectionary  fanatics,  joined  hands 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  113 

■•f  fellowship  and  subscribed  pledges  of  mutual  support.  Each 
.lad  a  differcut  ulterior  end,  but  the  overthrow  of  the  constitu- 
tion and  the  destruction  of  tho  South  was  the  first  step  in  their 
"respective  programmes ;  and  this  the  triumph  of  the  Chicago 
platform  and  its  champions  would  certainly  bring  about.  For 
a  long  time  these  rebellious  movements  had  been  progressing. 
They  h;\d  manifested  theniselves  in  a  thousand  different  ways. 
Sometimes  in  acts  of  popular  violence;  sometimes  in  the  treas- 
onable resolutions  of  conventions  and  assemblies,  and  not.  un- 
frcf|ucntly  in  legislative  statutes,  and  in  the  solemn  acts  of  State 
(Jovernors  and  other  high  officials. 

A  lively  sense  of  the  pecuniary  advantages  of  peace  and 
I'nion,  for  a  period,  repressed  a  general  outburst.  The  great 
masses  still,  from  fear  of  southtrn  resentment,  refrained  from 
pushing  matters  to  extremes;  though  they  applauded  and  en- 
couraged the  violence  of  irresponsible  mobs.  Tlley  were  guilty 
of  the  perfidy  of  disguising  tbeir  real  purposes,  until  they 
thought  the  moment  had  arrived  for  compelling  the  acquies- 
cence of  the  South.  In  1860  they  thought  that  time  had 
come,  and  they  rallied,  with  a  unanimity  undreamed  of  in  the 
South,  to  the  support  of  an  open  and  avowed  attempt  at  rebel- 
li(m.  The  Chicago  platform  became  their  bible  and  their  cou- 
fltitution,  and  allegiance  to  it  was  held  far  superior  to  all  other 
political  obligations. 

The  first  rebelHon  failed,  the  rather  because  its  mode  seemed 
impracticable  to  the  northern  mind  than  because  its  avowed 
objects  were  considered  objectionable.  For,  even  then,  the 
overthrow  of  the  constitution  and  tbe  destruction  of  the  South, 
at  which  it  aimed,  would  have  been  agreeable  to  a  very  formi- 
dalile  portion  of  the  northern  people.  The  same  bad  men,  who 
were  privy  to  and  helped  to  plot  the  ^rst,  more  or  less  elabora- 
ted the  second.  The  main  objects  of  each  were  the  same, 
namely:  the  dethronement  of  the  legitimate  majesty  of  the  oon- 
Btitution,  and,  thereafter,  the  annihilation  of  the  sovereignties 
of  the  States  and  the  destruction  of  the  South. 

The  leaders  were  impelled  by  motives  of  ambition  and  ma- 
lignant hostility  to  the  South.  They  did  not  hesitate  to  walk 
over  the  wreck  of  civil  liberty  into  "the  high  places  of  power, 
where,  armed  with  authority,  they  proposed  to  gratify  their 
feelings  of  vengeance. 

Ihe  people,  their  tools,  maddened  with  a  senseless  fanaticism 
and  a  blind  rosenfnjciit  towards  the  South,  were  appalled  by 
no  consideration  of  loss   iu  the  pursuit  of  their  mad   projects. 


114  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

Like  bound  lunatics,  as  they  were,  they  felt  themselves  ground 
down  hy  the  t\r.inny  of  a  compact  which,  to  a  small  extent,  pro- 
tected the  minority  against  the  imperious  will  of  a  majority. 
They  could  nut  and  they  would  not  endure  its  authority;  aud, 
if  they  could  not  overthrow  it,  they  would  not  abide  by  it. 

The  plan  of  the  most  precipitate  of  the  rebels,  for  sometime, 
was  to  prol'css  an  aliciriance  to  a  hijjher  law,  and  respect  the 
articles  of  the  compact,  only  where  it  did  not  interfere  with 
the  statutes  of  the  "  hiirhcr  law."  This  "  hiirher  law,"  the 
most  indefinite  and  uncertain  thinir  in  the  world,  was  capable 
of  being  modified,  expanded,  or  repealed,  according  to  the 
mandates  of  the  rea.<;on  of  each  individual,  it  was  said  ;  but,  more 
properly,  according  to  the  kind  and  quantity  ot  malignant 
passions  that  reigned  in  each  individual  breast.  But,  it  was 
soon  found  that  this  subterfuge  was  unnecessary.  A  president 
aud  a  numerical  majurity  was  all  that  was  rc(juired  ;  and  then, 
acts  of  Congress  could  be  passed  or  repealed  to  carry  out  ail 
their  designs.  All  they  wanted,  was  this,  and  the  constitution 
or  the  compact,  u-hafncr  it  was  calkd,  would  have  to  stand 
aside.  In  other  words,  it  would  be  overthrown,  banished,  done 
away  with,  and,  in  its  place,  a  vulgar  and  i'anatical  majority 
would  enthrone  their  capricious  M'ill.  When  fanatical  villains 
declared  in  the  federal  Congress,  that  they  acknowledged  alle- 
giance to  another  giivernmcnt  than  the  one  which  protected 
them,  namely:  to  the  provisional  government  or  cabal  of  radical- 
i.sts  who  promulgated  and  expounde<l  the  "  higher  law,"  nobody 
thought  of  calling  them  rebels.  The  very  audacity  of  their 
treason  prevented  its  being  seen  in  its  true  light.  And  when 
these  traitors  went  on,  from  year  to  year,  doing  the  same  thing 
aud  constantly  increasing  in  power  and  influence,  still,  few  re- 
garded them  as  traitors  plotting  against  the  spirit  and  Ibrm  of 
the  constitution.  The  observed  bitterness  of  their  hostility  to 
the  slaveholder,  blinded  people,  especially  southerners,  to  their 
real  designs.  It  was  foolishly  supposed  that  their  whole  an- 
tipathy was  against  the  institution  of  slavery;  hence  they  were 
merely  called  fanatical  abolitionists  and  (|uietly  despised.  Hut 
these  men,  espe(!ially  the  more  crafty  of  them,  were  making 
the  proposed  destruction  uf  slavery  a  means  and  an  end,  at  the 
same  time.  Their  ruling  passion  was  desire  ol"  power,  and  they 
declaimed  against  slavery,  more  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
that,  than  Irom  any  real  phihinthropic  aversion  to  the  institu- 
tion.    True,  they  hated  the  slaveholder  bccauBc  he  was  a  gen- 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  115 

tleman  whose   courtesy  and   courage  annoyed  them ;  but  they 
cared  nothing  for  the  slaves. 

In  this  way  was  their  treason  to  the  jrovcrnment  so  well  con- 
cealed, it  was  not,  until  time  and  circumstances  had  put 
into  their  hands  the  whole  political  power  of  the  North,  that 
the  southern  masses  penetrated  their  designs.  It  was  then 
seen  that  twty  had  banded  to  destroy  the  delegated  majesty  of 
the  established  constitution,  and  to  exalt  in  its  stead,  not  a  new 
constitution  modified,  through  the  modes  provided  for  in  the 
old,  but  the  capricious  will  of  a  mere  numerical  majority  of 
legislators  who  would  be  guided  in  the  use  of  their  power  by 
nothing  but  party  interest  and  sectional  hate. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

TIIK    IN8UBRKCTI0N    OF    THE    NORTHERN  MASSES  PREVIOUS  TO  1860. 

The  terra  rebellion  can  never  be  properly  applied  to  the 
conduct  of  a  State,  acting  (through  a  convention)  in  its  sover- 
eign capacity.  It  is,  however,  quite  applicable  to  certain  acts 
of  State  legislatures,  or  even  to  those  of  the  majority  of  peo- 
ple of  such  States,  when  either  countenancing,  encouraging, 
or  participating  in  factions  and  violent  resistance,  to  the  exe- 
cution of  established  laws.  For,  such  conduct  is  nothing  less 
than  rebellion  against  the  sovereignty  of  the  State  in  which  it 
occurs;  and,  in  this  wiy,  also,  is  it  rebellion  against  the  dele- 
gated majesty  of  federal  power.  Now,  the  Confederate  States, 
(except  Kentucky  and  Missouri,)  have  never  been  even  charged 
witli  this  kind  of  factious  commotion.  And,  even  granting 
that  the  perfidy  and  usurpations  of  the  North  had  not  released 
the  South  from  the  so-called  binding  obligations  of  allegiance 
to  the  old  i'ederal  compact;  still,  the  action  of  the  Confederate 
States  in  seceding  as  they  did,  (through  regular  conventions,) 
makes  the  term  rebellion  inapplicable  to  their  conduct.  The 
same  cannot  be  said  of  the  northern  States.  They,  both  by 
the  conduct  of  their  legislatures,  (which  no  class  of  politicians 
have  ever  regarded  as  representing  the  sovereignty  of  the 
States,)  in  dcnnuncine:  the  constitution  and  in  passing  statutes 
whiclr  reward  treason  and  punish  an  obedience  to  established. 


116  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

laws,  and  by  the  mobocratic  violence  of  their  respective  citizens, 
in  resistint:  the  execution  oi"  federal  laws,  were,  for  a  lung 
time  before  the  conMuent-emeut  of  the  present  struggle,  guilty 
of  insurrection  and  rcl)cliion. 

"Rebellion,"  says  .lolinson  and  Walker,  "is  an  insurrection 
against  lawful  authority."  Hut  what  is  an  insurrection;'  "it 
is,"  says  Johrson  antl  \\'alkor,  "a  factious  risiiii^,Trrebellious 
commotion."  These  definitions,  of  course,  are  expressed  in 
W(jrds  such  as  will  convey,  as  near  as  possible,  a  uniform  mean- 
ing to  different  people  living  under  different  forms  of  govern- 
ment. In  their  most  ordinary  signification,  they  more  particu- 
larly apply  to  mojjs  and  popular  riota.  Under  governments,  iu 
the  administration  pi'  which  the  masses  have  no  voice,  these 
are  the  usual,  and  sometimes  the  only  modes  of  redress  against 
real  or  imaginary  oppression.  But,  iu  republics,  where  the  vux 
jwpuli  is  the  wind  which  drives  the  vessel  of  state,  no  such 
vulgar  things  as  mobs  are  necessary  to  depose  lawl'ul  authority. 
At  least,  when  they  do  occur,  they  are  not  called  mobs,  but 
"uprisings  of  the  people,"  "indignation  meetings,"  and  such 
like  grand  names.  Sometimes,  it  is  true,  the  "sovereigns"  so 
far  forget  their  dignity  as  to  intimidate  the  officersof  the  law 
with  thrcatniug  demonstrations,  (a«  occurred  in  the  rescue  of 
the  fugitive  slave  liurns,  at  lioston,  and  upon  numerous  like 
occasions,)  but,  then,  they  do  the  thing  with  so  much  dignify, 
shedding  so  little  blood  and  smashing  so  lew  windows,  that  it 
seems  more  like  an  exertion  of  extra-judicial  authority,  thau 
a  riotous  outbreak.  " 

Treason,  which  animates  all  insurrections,  generally  suggests 
the  most  feasible  modes  of  rebellion.  In  the  old  L  iiion,  the 
conspirators  against  lawful  authority,  adopted  the  available 
means  to  suit  the  end  in  view.  They  persuaded  the  people,  by 
exciting  their  insensate  passions  with  well-drawn  pictures  of 
constitutional  tyranny,  to  elect  to  office  none  but  the  professed 
plotters  of  rebellion.  And  thoHO  worthies,  with  trea.sou  in  their 
liearLsand  on  their  tongues,  took^he  oath  of  allegiance  to  a  con- 
stituti(»n  which  they  were  instructed  to  dethrone,  in  whatever 
unlawtul  maniier  promi.sed  success.  Jiy  the  operation  of  their 
political  machinery,  consjiirators  soon  filled  most  of  the  im- 
portant public  offices  in  the  North.  The  length  of  the  term 
of  offices  in  the  federal  senate  and  judiciary,  afforded  some 
check  to  the  progre.><s  of  the  conspiracy.  But.  tlieir  rapid  in- 
crease in  j)ower  :uid  influcnct!.  assurtid  an  c.irly  pre|ion<lerance  in 
the  senate,  and  they  did  not  hesitate  to  declare  that,  if  th^judi* 


on,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  117 

ciary  dared  to  refuse  their  countenance  and  support,  after  a 
numerical  majority  had  been  secured  in  Congress,  they  would 
treat  their  dictums  and  the  obnoxious  articles  of  the  constitu- 
tion loith  cqnnl  contempt. 

In  those  of  the  northern  States,  where  their  supremacy  was 
undisputed,  laws  were  passed  openly  defyiug  the  authority  of 
the  constitution.  Massachusetts,  whose  rebellious  acts  furnish 
the  most  glaring  instances  of  this  treason  of  the  State  legis- 
lahires,  in  1855,  passed  an  act  declaring  that,  "no  person, 
while  holding  an}'  office  of  honor,  trust,  or  emolument,  under 
the  laws  of  this  commonwealth,  shall,  in. any  capacity  issue 
any  warrant  or  other  proof,  or  j;rant  any  certificate  under,  or 
by  virtue  of  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  the  loth  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, in  the  year  1793,  entitled,  'an  act  respecting  fugitives 
from  justice,  and  persons  escaping  from  the  service  of  their 
masters,'  or  under  or  by  virtue  of  an  act  of  Congress,  approved 
the  ISth  day  of  September,  1850,  entitled  'an  act  to  aniend, 
and  supplementary  to  an  act  respecting  fugitives  from  justice, 
and  persons  escaping  fr<jm  the  service  of  their  masters,'  or 
shall  in  any  capacity  serve  any  such  warrantor  other  process." 

It  then  proceeds  to  affix  penalMes  to  all  possible  evasions  or 
violations  of  this  act,  by  anv  foolish  people  who  entertain  a 
guilty  attachment  to  the  con.-titution  of  their  fathers.  If  it  be  a 
State  officer  who  is  guilty,  "  his  office  shall  be  deemed  vacant, 
and  he  shall  forever  thereafter  be  ineligible  to  hold  an}'  office  of 
trust,  honor,  (?)  or  emolument,  under  the  laws  of  this  common- 
wealth." And  all  lawyers,  who  are  base  enough  to  a]>pear  as  coun- 
sel for  the  slave-owner,  are  disposed  of  in  the  following  summary 
manner:  "  lie  shall  be  deemed  to  have  resigned  any  commission 
from  the  commonwcath  that  he  mav  possess,  and  he  shall  be 
thereafter  incapacitated  from  ap])earing  as  co)insel  or  attorney  in 
the  courts  of  this  commonwealth."  Sherifts,  jailers,  coroners, 
constables  and  other  State  officers,  who  shall,  in  any  manner,  aid 
in,  connive,  or  wink  at, 'the  violation  of  this  law,  are  to  sutler 
what,  in  Massachusetts,  has  generallv  been  considered  capital 
punishment,  namely:  lo  be  severely  fined  and  imprisoned.    " 

Even  judlres,  who  are  sworn  to  support  the  federal  constitu- 
tion, if  guilty  of  issuing  warrants  under  the  act*  specified,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  ^atb  which  they  have  sworn,  are  to  be  subject 
to  removal  and  impeachment. 

Such  was  the  glaring  act  of  defiant  rebellion  which  Massa- 
chusetts passed  in  18o.5.  The  ar<r\inients  which  are  generallv  used 
to  justify  the  right  of  nuUificaiion,  do  nut  ai>ply  in   this  case. 


118  THE    TWO   RXBELLIONS; 

Tbey  only  apply  where  a  State,  through  a  coftx'ention,  declines 
to  obey  an  act  o{  <^oiijjresR,  on  the  crroun«l  of  its  ttncoi  ulitunon- 
aliti/.  Bill  the  reason,  a-^signed  by  Massachusetts  and  the  ollior 
northern  Stales,  guihy  of  similar  treason,  was  that  tiie  fugitive 
slave  laws  of  l7U3aii(l  1850,  were  odious  and  coiitlicted  with 
(ortain  articles  of  their  ''  hir/her  law,'^  which  they  had  already 
exalted  above  the  constitution.  And,  yet,  this  miserable  State 
of  Massachusetts,  though  iier  whole  history  is  one  of  perfidv 
and  treason,  from  the  very  origin  of  the  federal  comjta<t  <lown 
to  the  present  time,  talks  more  and  writes  more  about  the, 
"damnable  treason  pf  secession,"  and  is  ntore  prolific  of  schemes 
of  cruelty  for  "southern  traitoi-s,"  than  any  other  State  in  the 
North.  She  was  the  lirsl  to  propose,  in  the  Hartford  conven- 
tion, to  desert  the  common  cause  and  go  over  to  tl>e  enemy, 
during  the  war  of  1812.  Slie  was  the  leader  in  every  sub.'5e(pient 
treasonable  movement  against  tiie  old  government;  and  now, 
when,  by  means  of  a  war,  of  which  ehe  is  the  ]»rincipal  author, 
her  lap  is  being  filled  with  stolen  treasure,  she  is  even  untiue  to 
the  league  of  blood  to  which  she  owes  so  much.  IJirn  the 
honor,  that  thieves  ptd/ess,  is  denied  her.  For,  her  co-partners  in 
crime,  complain  most  bitterly,  that  .she  dodges  the  draft,  while 
she  gets  more  than  the  lion's  share  of  the  spoils. 

The  course  of  Massachu.setts  but  illustrates  the  general  rebel- 
lious nioven)ent  which  occurred  at  the  North.  Not  only  the 
State  legislatures,  but  the  bulk  of  the  citizens,  in  one  wav  or 
another,  countenanced  or  participated  in  overt  acts  of  rebellion. 
Tor  \ears  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  ))resent  war,  it  was  im- 
possible fur  a  southerner  to  obtain,  at  the  North,  the  protection 
of  the  federal  law,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  rights  guaranteed  to 
him  by  the  constitution. 

If  a  citizen  of  Boston  wished  to  move  with  his  family  and 
household  goods  and  chatties,  (patent  meilicines,  wooden  nut- 
megs and  all,)  to  any  point  in  the  Union,  he  could  travel  what- 
ever route  he  ])leased,  sure  of  obtaining,  both  in  the  South  and 
in  his  own  section,  that  security  of  liberty  and  properly,  which 
the  fetleral  compact  guaranteetl  to  the  citizens  of  all  the  S'utes. 
Similar  privileges  were,  however,  not  allowetl  to  southerners.  If 
a  citizen  of  Baltimore  proposed  to  emigrate  to  the  State  ot  Mis- 
souri with  his  )ir(>|»ei  tv,  he  was  obliged  to  ^choose  some  other, 
than  the  most  direct  loute  to  St.  Louis.  lie  could  neither  travel 
via  New  York  and  Chicago,  nor  via  Pittsburg  and  Cinciniiatti. 
lie  was  not  eveil  permitted  to  go  ovri  the  l^;diimoie  and  Ohio* 
liailroavl  to  Wheeling,  aiid  thence,  through  llie  States  of  Ohio, 


on,    TREASON    UNMASKED.  llJi 

Indiana  and  Illinois.  The  condition  of  ^chronic,  insurrection 
asx^insi  the  federal  autliority,  iu  all  tlie  free  States,  waine  i  hiftj 
{Virainst  the  danger  of  such  a  course.  If  he  attemptei  it.  he  was 
not  only  certain  of  having  his  servants  forcibly  torn  from  him, 
but  there  was  a  strong  likelihood  of  getting  his  head  hroken 
and  being  thrust  into  a  felon's  cell,  upon  the  charge  of  kidnap- 
ing. 

The  rebels,  as  it  were,  held  military  possession  of  the  free 
Stales.  They  picketed  the  hif/htvai/s  and  garrisoned  the  towns 
and  cities  of  the  same.  And  so,  the  inexorable  law  of  military 
necessity  cmnpelled  our  .would-be  emigrant  to  Missouri,  to  select 
some  cirrMitous  route  thiough  the  southern  States,  in  order  to 
reach  in  saifety  the  object  of  his  destination. 

Thus  was  the  whole  North  country  "occupied  and  posse,sscd,^^ 
by  a  law-defying,  rebellious  populace,  long  before  the  memorable 
year  of  1860.  Moreover,  if  any  person  committed  a  criminal 
offence  against  the  laws  of  a  northern  State,  and  escaped  to  a 
southern  State,  no  difficulty  was  ever  encountered  in  obtaining, 
from  the  civil  authorities  of  the  same,  the  surrender  of  the 
fugitive  when  found,  or  whatever  aid  and  countenance  might 
facilitate  his  capture.  Both  the  people  and  the  authoiilies  in 
the  southern  States,  fulfilled  the  terms  of  the  federal  com])act  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  On  the  other  hand,  let  any  enterprising 
Yankee  rogue,  steal  a  slave  and  make  off  with  him  to  a  northern 
State;  hg,  invariably,  found  an  asylum  anywhere  in  the  North, 
even  though  his  offence  might  have  been  aggiavated  bv  l/ie com- 
mission, of  ot/icr  crimes.  The  State  Governors  refused  to  deliver 
him  up,  and  the  southern  gentlemen  who  made  the  (hMuand,  if 
they  tlid  not  travel  incog.,  were  apt  to  meet  with  rough  treatment 
at  the  hands  of  th6^sover<;ign  people.  Among  the  high  northern 
officials  whose  conduct  furnishes  exemplifications  of  this  guber- 
natorial trea8<in,  W.  II.  Seward  is  conspicuous. 

Nearly  twenty  years  before  the  secession  of  the  South,  this 
great  pillar  of  legitimacy  refused  to  deliver  up,  upon  the  de-* 
maud  of  (jiovernor  (lilmcr,  of  Virginia,  an  abolition  thief  who 
had  escaped  to  New  York.  Be  it  remembered,  that  Governor 
Gilmer  resigned  his  office,  because  the  Virginia  legislature,  at 
that  time,  would  not  resent  the  insult  to  the  State. 

Thus  djd  the  South,  for  a  wlKtle  generation,  respect  the  arti- 
cles of  a  ciunpact  which  the  masses  at  the  North  habitually 
disregarded,  and  trampled  underfoot.  Hut  she  did  more  than 
this.  Fur  the  sake  nt'  domestic  traii(|iiility,  '■ho  suijuiitfcd  to 
the  passage  of  uacuustitutional  acts  which  robbed  her  of  that 


120  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

equality  in  the  territmries  which  the  constitution  guarantied. 
The  '*  coiupniniisc  acts'  >ui  tliey  were  cailol,  pas-sed  as  they 
were  by  an  unautliurizeil  budy,  could  not  affect  the  substantial 
terms  ot  the  original  compact.  And  such  was  the  decision  of 
the  judiciary  time  and  agiiin.  In  I80O,  as  in  171>."i,  in  all  of 
its  original  grand  jiroportiuns,  the  constitution  stood  intcict, 
until  alterefl  according  to  the  mode  provided  for  IN  IT.  Con- 
gressional legislati«in  was  powerless  to  change  it.  So  that, 
every  violation  of  it  which  had  been  committed,  might  have 
been  properly  treated  as  such,  whenever  a  power  arose  to  .vin- 
dicate its  authority.  Indeed,  it  woiiJd  have  been  perfectly 
proper  for  all  the  loyal  States  of  the  riiion,  long  ago  to  have 
repudiated  all  tho.se  "compromise  acts"  which  politicians  had 
patched  up  for  their  own  j)urposes,  and  treated  as  rebels  all 
who  persisted  in  carrying  out  such  "statutes  of  Congress.", 

IJut  there  was  no  power  to  vindicate  the  authority  of  the 
violated  constitution,  because  the  motive  for  loyalty  was  not 
sufficient.  It  was  not  until  the  very  integrity  of  the  political 
and  social  institution  of  the  Suuth  was  threatened  with  de- 
struction by  tliese  same  rel)els,  that  a  re-establishment  of  legit- 
imate authority  was  contemplated.  Then  the  motives  of  safety 
became  superior  to  those  of  loyalty,  and  the  South  simply  se- 
ceded, instead  of  attempting  to  restore,  by  force  of  arms,  the 
authority  of  the  constitution. 

Thus  did  treason  gradually  insinuate  itself  into  plaoes  of  in- 
fluence and  power;  and  by  familiarizing  the  public  with  its 
Ibrm  and  appearance,  came  finally,  when  it  got,  possession  of  the 
symbols  and  sceptre  of  legitimacy,  to  be  recognized  by  foreign 
nations  as  the  true  representative  of  the  old  government. 

If  it  isassuujcd  that  the  old  Federal  Congress  were,  all  along, 
invested  with  the  powers  of  a  convention  of  the  States,  the  by- 
pothesis  of  the  legitimacy  of  the  Lincoln  government  might 
po.ssess  some  degree  of  plausibility.  Hut  every  school-boy 
knows  the  absurdity  of  such  an  assumption.  It  was  nothing 
more  than  a  contrivance  for  carrying  out  the  will  of  the  con- 
iederate  sovereigns,  as  expre.s.sed  in  the  written  articles  of  agree- 
ment. They  had  no  more  authority  to  set  aside  their  ^*  letter 
i>J  iiist ructions"  than  any  other  ecpial  number  oi"  American  cit- 
izens. A  convention  of  railroitd  agents,  preachei-s,  or  consta- 
bles, were  eiiually  authorized  to  issue  unconstitutional  edicts. 
For  what  ('ongress  had  no  ri</ht  to  do  w.is  as  wrong  in  them  as 
it  could  be  in  others.  And,  when  impelled  V>y  hate,  lust  of 
power  and  plunder,  the  rebels  went  from  one  degree  of  lawless- 


Ok,   TRBA80N     UNMASKIl).  121 

ness  to  another,  until  they  substituted  for  the  constitution  the 
dogmas  of  phitforms  and  the  articles  of  "the  higher  law"  they 
were  guilty  of  opeu  rebellion  and  impartial  history  will  so  de- 
cide. 


»  ♦  « 


CHAPTER   XXVITI. 


TttK  OB.IKCT  OF  THE  SKCK8SI0K  MOVKMKN'T  AND  THE  U8K  MADK 
OF  IT  IIY  THE  REBF,LS— WHAT  SL'BJCGATIOX  MEANS  AND  THE 
ONLY    MODE    OF    PREVENTING     IT. 

"When  the  insurrection  of  the  malignant  malcontents  of  the 
North  had  accomiilished  the  overtlirow  of  the  authority  of  the 
constitutional  league,  and  seized  upon  the  official  insignia  and 
seals  of  the  legitimate  powers  at  Washington,  it  became  necessa- 
ry for  the  loyalists  of  the  South,  whose  destruction  was  one  of 
the  avowed  objects  of  the  rebels,  to  devise  some  mode  of  self- 
preservation.  The  violent  sei^^iire  of  the  substantial  majesty  of 
the  government,  and  the  illegal  and  mutinous  appropriation  of 
all  the  emblems  and"  badges  of  federal  authority,  put  at  the 
disposal  of  the  rebels  the  civil  and  military  power  6f  the  sover- 
eign whose  throne  they  had  filled  with  a  usurper.  The  emer- 
gency admitted  of  no  faint-hearte<lness,  no  hesitation  on  the 
part  of  the  southern  loyalists.  The  inter«st  of  Iiumanit\,as  well 
as  their  own.  demanded  prompt  and  decided  action.  The  sub- 
stitution of  the  capricious  will  of  some  hundred  and  forty  des- 
perate bad  men  for  the  constitution,  whose  venerable  form  was 
still  dear  to  many,  release<l  the  loyalitts  from  any  obedience  to 
the  infernal  similitude  of  legitimacy  which  wielded  the  power* 
and  wore  the  image  of  the  old  gosernment.  But  two  alterna- 
tives remained  short  of  cowardly  submission  to  the  revolutionary 
supremacy  of  the  rebels.  One  was  to  raise  the  "  flag  of  the 
Union,"  and  call  upon  the  loyalists  of  the  whole  country  to  come 
to  the  rescue  of  the  constitution  and  laws;  the  other  was  a  for- 
mal resumption  of  their  delegated  powers  by  the  southern 
States  and  the  foimation  of  a  new  league  among  them,  for  the 
purpose  of  self-defence. 

The  first  method  would,  undoubtedly,  have  enlisted  the  sym- 
pathy and  material  assistatve  of  a  large  number  of  the  northern 
d«»roo<rat*.  Many  would  gladly  have  rushed  to  arros  to  restore 
11 


122  THE  TWO  rebellions; 

to  its  8oat  of  power,  the  despised  and  banished  constitution  of 
their  fathers.  IJut  it  would  certainly  have  plunged  the  country 
into  a  civil  war,  and  installed  a  conrtict  which,  in  ferocity  and 
savage  brutality,  would,  in  all  probability,  have  exceeded  that 
which  rages  now. 

The  South  shrunk  from  an  alternative,  the  contemplation  of 
which  peopled  the  future  with  such  horrors.  In  tlie  inn*)cenco 
of  a  heart,  which  was  bent  on  peace,  though  firm  in  its  purpose 
of  freedom,  it  was  fondly  dreamed  that  the  adoption  of  the 
second  alterative  would  prove  a  remedy  for  all  the  evils  which 
threatened  her.  It  not  ouly  promised  peace,  but  opened  up  the 
delightful  prospect  of  a  permanent  seperation  frotu  political 
partners,  who  were  mean,  treacherous,  and  oalh-breaking;  whose 
covetousness  was  insatiable,  and  whose  love  of  fault-finding  and 
hypocritical  cant  made  their  companionship,  not  only  disagree- 
able, but  absolutely  loathsome.  If  this  desire  of  seperation,  in 
the  judgment  of  the  disinterested,  argues  a  want  of  lofty  forget- 
fulness  of  self  in  the  South,  it  should  be  rem^inbered  how,  for 
the  sake  of  domestic  tranquility,  she  had  submitted  for  thirty 
years,  to  be  swindled,  abused  and  insulted,  by  their  political 
brethren,  and,  not  until  the  safety  of  her  life  was  threatened,  did 
she  finally  resolved  to  assert,  and,  by  the  h'felp  of  (Jod,  maintain 
"a  seperate  and  equal  station." 

But,  disregarding  the  weight  of  tlie  reason  which  southern 
inclination  and .  interest  furnished  as  a  sullicient  justification  of 
secession,  there  was  another  which,  alone  should,  in  the  eyes  of 
all  the  world,  vindicate  the  conduct  of  the  South.  This  was  the 
probability  of  preserving  the  public  peace,  by  a  formal  separa- 
tion. She  proposed  to  leave  her  political  brethren  to  themselves, 
and  let  them  enjoy,  in  undisturbed  bliss,  the  self-imposed  curse 
of  republicanism.  If  the  North  were  willing  to  receive,  as  their 
rulers,  the  daring  traitors  who  had  deposed  the  constitution,  the 
South  thought  that,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  she  would  not  inter- 
fere in  the  matter.  She  would  leave  the  North  to  shape  her 
own  destiny,  and  would,  without  drawing  anything  from  the 
common  stock,  go  out  into  the  world  and  set  up  for  herself. 

Had  the  rebels  aimed  at  mere  political  reform,  the  withdrawal 
of  the  South  would  have  satisfied  them.  But  the  sequel  shows 
that  behind  their  perjury  and  treason  lay  som^jing  worse 
than  a  mere  factious  and  criminal  zeal  for  ])olitical  change.  To 
an  inordinate  desire  for  the  power  and  the  spoils  of  office,  they 
united  a  malignant  hostility  to  the  southerner,  which  envy  and 
covetousness    inflamed   to   an   incredible   degree   of   intensity. 


OR,   TREASON    UNMASKED.  123 

After  the  triumph  of  their  treason  in  their  own  section,  the  des- 
truction of  the  South  became  the  paramount  object  of  the  in- 
surrectionists. They  converted  the  secession  of  the  South  into 
a  means  of  strengthing  their  own  usurpation  of  power.  Occu- 
cupying  the  attention  of  the  northern  masses,  with  lugubrious 
and  heart-rending  lamentations  over  the  breaking  up  of  the 
dear  old  political  family,  and  the  horrible  crime  of  secession, 
they  diverted  the  public  observation  from  their  own  villainous 
treason.  Artfully  mingling,  with  solicitations  of  patriotic  effort, 
insidious  appeals  to  the  worst  passions  of  humanity,  they  com- 
manded the  enthusiastic  support  of  the  frenzied  people  of  the 
North,  though  promulgating  their  edicts  from  amid  the  ruins 
of  the  strongholds  of  freedom. 

Day  after  day,  still  repeating  the  same  political  strategy, 
which  ever  chamcterizes  the  growth  of  despotisms,  they  have 
gradually  succeeded  in  destroying  every  bulwark  of  northern 
liberty.  Only  the  hollow  forms  and  cherished  images  through 
which  the  banished  spirit  once  manifested  itself,  has  survived  the 
general  ruin  ;  and  to  these,  the  corrupt  and  degraded  populace 
yet  cling,  as  if  the  spirit  which  once  animated  them  had  not  long 
since  been  expelled.  By  what  precise  indirection  and  crooked 
paths  the  reliels  have  gradually  succeeded  in  becoming  absolute 
masters  of  the  whole  military  strength  of  the  North,  Heaven 
only  knows.  Though  it  would  be  hardly  considered  indiscreet 
or  audacious  to  hazard  the  conjecture  that  the  unrevealed  his- 
tory of  their  rise  to  power  would  exhibit,  if  possible,  greater 
evidences  of  human  depravity  than  what  has  been  brazenly  ex- 
posed to  the  public  gaze. 

Theologians  say  that  the  sense  of  shame  is  generally  the  rear- 
guard of  virtue  in  its  final  evacuation  Df  the  human  bosom.  So 
that,  when  its  presence  can  no  longer  be  discovered,  it  is  safe  to 
conclude  that  sin  holds  undisturbed  possession  of  the  premises. 
Now,  the  rebels  at  Washington,  even  in  those  public  documents 
wherein  the  most  vicious  and  abandoned  pretenders  to  th«  dig- 
nity of  a  legitimate  government,  profess  to  respect  the  human 
instincts  of  decency  and  propriety,  exhibit  a  total  loss  of  the 
sense  of  shame.  This  "Washington  concern"  actually  seems 
to  take  pleasure  in  defying  and  outraging  those  common  instincts 
of  our  species — which  stand  like  sentinels  on  the  outpost*  of 
virtue  to  guard  u^  from  the  utter  beastliness  of  insensate  brutes. 
If,  then,  they  dare  to  display  to  the  world,  with  iron  faces,  such 
a  moral  condition,  what  seas  of  death  an4  corruption,  what  in- 
conceivable pictures  of  wickedness,  would  the  hibtory  of  their 


124  THE    TWO    REBELLION*; 

.>• 

inner  life  reveal,  Xo  doubt,  if  we  could  penetrate  the  niv«tery 
which  envelopes  the  (inrk  and  cnioked  wavs  of  the  leHding  con- 
8{)iriitors,  we  would  leaiii  much  thai  would  l>t' interestinir.  thouirh 
little  thai  would  more  dearly^  exphtin  their  desii^ns  than  that 
which  has  already  transpired.  \Ve  would  fni<l  that,  like  the 
Chatham  rebels,  they  ai:reed  upon  a  "plan  of  adiun,"'  and  on 
one  equally  as  audacious  and  radical.  No  doubt,  anticipating 
the  future,  they  apportioned  the  expected  plunder  and  power, 
and  airreed  upon  a  system  of  oppression  as  unnatural  and  odious 
as  lias  since  been  put  in  practice.  But,  since  lanjiuafje  is  con* 
fcsse  ily  inadequate  to  descsibe  the  well-known  hellish  features 
of  their  revealed  system,  it  would  be  vain  to  attempt  to  portray 
the  in)aj;ined  horrors  of  their  theoretical  plan.  It  is  plain,  how- 
ever, that  they  have  entertained  from  the  beirinnintr,  and  do  now 
cherish,  above  every  other  purpose,  the  design  of  appropriatin{|j 
the  estates  of  the  southern  slaveholder,  and  exfiipHtiiii;  the 
ni'ist  in!-ifri)ifi<anl  scion  of  southern  chivalrv.  An  inborn,  cvdti- 
vated.  and  imhilijfed  hatred  of  the  southern  gentleman,  cond>ined 
with  an  intense  desiie  of  his  property,  are  the  rulinjj  passions. 
In  whatever  respect  they  may  be  turned  from  the  prosecution  of 
their  other  purposes  by  a  cowardly  and  disgraceful  submission, 
from  these  two  master  designs,  nothing  short  of  southern 
triumph  will  drivej^hem. 

The  South  may  accept  infamy;  she  may  surrender  every  prin- 
ciple for  the  maintenance  of  the  right  of  which  she  first  drew 
her  loyal  sworil ;  she  may  cU)the  herself  in  the  habiliments  of 
liumilily  and,  loading  her  abject  body  with  the  fetters  of  a  slave, 
go  and  kneel  at  the  feet  of<  her  foe,  suj>|»licating  for  mercv  with 
all  the  eloquence  of  wretched  despair — it  will  avail  her  nothing. 
She  will  then  learn,  to  her  sham  less  sorrow,  what  n)brble-hearted 
demons  avarice  and  liaie  have  ma<le  of  tlie  Yankees.  Spurned 
and  spit  upon,  and  rudely  hustled  from  the  conqueror's  presence, 
she  will  be  left  a  homeless,  penniless  wanderer,  with  no  resort 
but  to  forever  abandon  her  native  soil,  or  drag  out  a  dreary  life 
of  bon<lage  to  th«  hated  northerner. 

j\nlhin(/  but  heroic  c[f'urt,  in  Jier  own  behalf,  can  sai'e  her  from 
eternal  infamy  and  destruction.  Let  her  but  once  pause  in  that 
high  career  wliiidi  has  wrung  a<lmiration  from  a  hostile  wor'd ; 
let  her  once  consent  to  com|iouiul  her  fair  name,  or  sully,  by  one 
act  of  meanness,  the  brightness  of  a  glory  whiih  the  precious 
blood  of  earth's  aristocracy  has  purchased,  then  will  the  fountain 
of  her  strength  be  poisoned,  the  sun  of  her  system  be  darkened, 


OR,   TREASON   UNMASKED.  125 

and,  like  a  tuneless  harp,  bereft  at  once  of  its  cliarm   and  its 
power,  she  will  be  despised,  ne<flectcd,  and  forgotten. 

Uonor  is  the  spirit  which  animates,  sustains,  and  dignifies  her 
being.  It  is  her  national  source  of  vitality,  as  her  trust  in  God 
is  her  battle  armor.  Stain  it,  and  the  spell  is  broken,  the  citadel 
is  lost;  and,  like  the  shorn  Sampson  of  old,  the  mighty  giant, 
who  once  defied  a  world  in  arms,  falls  a  deluded  and  helpless 
victim  into  the  hands  of  her  malignant  and  perfidious  enemies. 


APPENDIX 


PROVISIONAL 

CONSTITUTION    AND    ORDINANCES 

TOR    THE 

PEOPLE  OV  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


PREAMBLE. 

Whereas  slavery,  throughout  its  entire  existence  in  the  United 
States,  is  none  other  than  a  most  barbarous,  unprovoked, 
and  unjustifiable  war  of  one  portion  of  its  citizens  upon  an- 
other portion,  the  only  conditions  of  which  are  perpetual 
imprisonment  and  hopeless  servitude,  or  absolute  extermina- 
tion, in  utter  disregard  and  violation  of  the  eternal  and  self- 
evident  truths  set  forth  in  our  declaration  of  independence ; 
Therefore — 

We,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the  oppressed  people 
who,  by  a  recent  decision  of  the  supreme  court,  are  declared  to 
have  no  rights  which  the  white  man  is  bound  to  respect,  to- 
gether with  all  other  people  degraded  by  the  laws  thereof,  do, 
for  the  time  being,  ordain  and  establish  for  ourselves,  the  fol- 
lowing provisional  constitution  and  ordinances  the  better  to 
protect  ourselves,  property,  lives,  and  liberties,  and  to  govern 
our  actions: 

ARTICLE     I. 

Qualification  for  Members. 

All  persons  of  mature  age,  whether  proscribed,  oppressed, 
and  enslaved  citizens,  or  of  the  proscribed  and  oppressed  races 
of  the  Uaited  States,  who  shall  agree  to  suataiD  and   eDforce 


130  APPENDIX. 

the  provisional  constitution  and  ordinances  of  this  orpanisa> 
tion,  together  with  all  minor  children  of  such  persons,  shall  be 
held  to  be  fully  entitled  to  protection  under  the  same. 

ARTICLE    II. 

Branches  of   Government. 

The  provisional  government  of  this  organization  shall  con- 
sist of  three  branches,  viz :  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial. 

ARTICLE     III. 
Legislative. 

The  legislative  branch  shall  be  a  Congress,  or  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, composed  of  not  less  th:in  five  nor  moie  than  ten 
members,  who  shall  be  elected  by  all  citizens  of  mature  age 
and  sound  mind,  connected  with  this  organization,  and  who 
shall  remain  in  office  for  three  years,  unless  sooner  removed  for 
misconduct,  inability,  or  by  death.  A  majority  of  such  mem- 
bers shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

ARTICLE-  IV. 

Executive. 

The  executive  branch  of  this  organization  shall  consist  of  a 
President  and  Vice  President,  vi\\o  shall  be  chosen  by  the 
citizens  or  members  of  this  organization,  and  each  of  whom 
shall  hold  his  office  for  three  years,  unless  sooner  removed  by 
death,  or  for  inability  or  misconduct. 

ARTICLE    T. 

Judlvial. 

The  judicial  branch  of  this  organization  shall  consist  of 
one  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  and  of  four  associate 
judges  of  said  court;  each  constituting  a  circuit  court.  They 
shall  each  be  chosen  in  the  same  manner  as  the  President, 
and  shall  continue  in  office  until  their  places  have  been  filled 
in  the  same  manner  by  electioa  of  the  citiiens.     Said  court 


APPENDIX.  131 

shall  have  jurisdiction  in  all  civil  or  criminal  causes  arising 
under  this  constitution  except  breaches  of  the  rules  of  war. 

ARTICLE    VI. 

Validity  of  Enactments. 

All  enactments  of  the  legislative  branch,  shall,  to  become 
valid  during  the  first  three  years,  have  the  approbation  of  the 
President  and  of  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army. 

ARTICLE    VII. 

Commander-in-Chief. 

A  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  shall  be  chosen  by  the 
President,  Vice-President,  a  majority  of  the  Provisional  Con- 
gress and  of  the  supreme  court,  and  he  shall  receive  his  com- 
mission from  the  President,  signed  by  the  Vice-President  the 
chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  and  the  Secretary  of  War; 
and  he  shall  hold  his  office  for  three  years  unless  removed  by 
death,  or  on  proof  of  incapacity  or  misbehavior.  He  shall, 
unless  under  arrest,  (and  until  his  place  is  actually  filled  as 
provided  for  by  the  constitution,)  direct  all  movements  of  the 
army,  and  advise  with  any  allies.  He  shall,  however,  be 
tried,  removed  or  punished,  on  complaint  to  the  President 
by  at  least  three  general  officers,  or  a  majority  of  the  House  of 
Pepresentatives,  or  of  the  supreme  court.  Which  House  of 
Representatives,  (the  President  presiding,)  the  Vice  President, 
and  the  members  of  the  supreme  court,  shall  constitute  a 
court  martial,  for  his  trial ;  with  power  to  remove  or  punish, 
as  the  case  «iay  require,  and  to  fill  his  place  as  above  provided. 

ARTICLE    VIII. 

Officers. 

A  Treasurer,  Secretary  of*  State,  Secretary  of  War  and 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  shall  each  be  chosen  for  the  first 
three  years,  in  the  same  way  and  manner  as  the  commander-in- 
chief;  subject  to  trial  or  removal  on  complaint  of  the  Presi- 
dent, Vice-President,  or  commander-in-chief,  to  the  chief 
justice  of  the  supreme  court;  or  on  complaint  of  a  majority  of 
the  members  of  such  court,  or  the  Provisional  Congresa.     Tho 


132  APPENDIX.  i 

supreme  court  shall  have  power  to  try  or  punish  cither  of  these 
officersi,  aud   tlicir  j. laces  .shall  be  dlled  as  before. 

ARTICLE     IX. 

Secretary  of    War.  A. 

The  Secretary  of  War  shall  be  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion of  the  coniujandt'r-iu-chief ;  who  may  temporarily  fill  hit 
place  in  case  of  arrest  or  of  any  inability  to  serve. 

ARTICLE     X . 

The  House  of  Representatives  shall  make  ordinances  pro- 
vidiuf^  for  the  appointment  (by  the  l^resideut  or  otherwise)  of 
all  civil  officers  excepting  those  already  named;  and  shall  have 
power  to  make  all  laws  and  ordinances  for  the  general  good^ 
not  incousistant  with  this  oonstitutioD  and  these  ordiDanceHj 

ARTICLE     XI. 

Appropriation  of  Money,  etc. 

The  Provisional  Congress  shall  have  power  to  appropriate 
money  or  other  property  actually  i«  the  hands  of  the  treasurer, 
to  any  object  calculated  to  promote  the  general  good,  so  far  as 
may  be  consistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  constitution;' 
aud  may,  in  certain  cases,  appmpriute,  for  a  moderate  compen- 
sation of  agents,  or  persons  not  members  of  this  organization 
for  important  services,  they  are  knowu  to  have  rendered. 

ARTICLE    XII. 

Special  Duties. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  Congress  to  provide  for  the  instant 
removal  of  any  civil  officer  or  policeman,  who  becomes  habit- 
ually iMtoxicated,  or  who  is  aildicted  to  other  immoral  con- 
duct, or  any  neglect  or  unfaithfulness  in  the  discharge  of 
his  official  duties.  Congress  shall  also  be  a  standing  com- 
mittee of  safety,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  important  in- 
formation; and  shall  be  in  constant  communication  with  the 
commander-in-chief;  the  members  of  which  shall  each,  as  also 
the  President,  Vice  President,  members  of  the  supreme  court, 


APPENDIX.  ISo 

and  Secretary  of  State,  have  full  power  to  issue  warrants,  re- 
turnable as  Congress  shah  ordain,  (naming  witnesses,  etc.,) 
upon  their  own  infoiuiatiuu,  without  the  formahty  of  a  com- 
phiint.  Complaint  shall  be  immediately  made  after  arrest,  and 
Jbefore  trial  >  the  party  arrested  to  be  served  with  a  copy  at 
once. 

ARTICLE     XIII. 

Trial  of  President  and  other   Officers. 

The  President  and  Vice  President,  may  either  of  them  be 
tried,  removed  or  punished,  on  complaint  made  to  the  chief 
justice  of  the  supreme  court,  by  a  majority  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  which  House,  together  with  the  associate 
judges  of  the  sup;enie  court,  (the  whole  to  be  presided  over  by 
the  chief  justice  in  cases  of  the  trial  of  the  Vice  President,) 
shall  have  full  power  to  try  such  officers,  to  remove  or  punigh, 
as  the  case  may  require,  and  to  fill  any  vacauc}'  so  occurring, 
the  same  as  in  case  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

ARTICLE     XIV. 
Trial  of  Members  of  Congrsss. 

The  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  may,  any  and 
all  of  them,  be  tried,  and,  on  conviction,  removed  or  punished, 
on  complaint  before  the  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court, 
made  liy  an}'^  number  of  the  members  of  said  House  exceed- 
ing one  third,  which  House,  with  the  Vice-President  and  asso- 
ciate judges  of  the  supreme  court,  shall  constitute  the  proper 
tribunal,  with  power  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

ARTICLE     XV. 

Impeachment  of  Jnd<jcs. 

Any  member  of  the  supreme  court  moy  also  be  impeached, 
tried,  convicted  or  punished,  by  renK>val  or  otherwise,  (-n 
complaint  to  the  President  who  shall,  in  such  case,  preside; 
the  Vice  President,  Houcc  of  Representatives,  and  other  mem- 
bers of  tlio  supreme  court,  eonstitufing  the  proper  tribunal, 
(with  power  to  fill  vacancies,)  oa  complaint  of  a  msinritv  of 
12 


io^  APPEXLIX. 

said  House  of  Representatives,  or  of  the  supreme  court;    a 
majority  of  the  wliolc  having  power  to  decide. 

ARTICLE     XVI. 

Dutirx  of  Prrsiilvnt  and  Secretary  of  State. 

The  President,  with  the  Secretary  of  State,  shall,  immedi- 
ately upon  entering  nix>n  the  duties  of  their  office,  give  special 
attention  to  secure,  from  amongst  their  own  people,  men  vf  in- 
tegrity, intelligence,  and  good  business  habits  and  capacity, 
and,  above  all,  of  first  rate  moral  and  religious  character  and 
influence,  to  act  as  civil  officers  of  every  description  and  grade, 
as  well  as  teachers,  chaplains,  physicians,  surgeons,  mechanics, 
agents  of  every  description,  clerks  and  messengers.  They  shall 
make  special  efforts  to  induce,  at  the  earliest  possible  period, 
persons  and  families  of  that  description  to  locate  themselves 
within  the  limits  secured  by  this  organization,  and  shall,  more- 
over, from  time  to  time,  supply  the  names  and  residence  of  such 
persons  to  Congress,  for  their  special  notice  and  information,  as 
among  the  most  important  of  their  duties;  and  the  IVesidcnt  is 
hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  afford  special  aid  to  such, 
from  such  moderate  appropriations  as  the  (Aingress  shall  be  able, 
and  may  deem  it  available,  to  make  for  that  object.  The  Pres- 
ident and  Secretary  of  State,  and,  in  case  of  dis;»greement,  the 
Vice  President,  shall  appoint  all  civil  officers,  but  shall  not 
have  power  to  remove  any  ofllcer.  All  removals  shall  be  the 
result  of  a  fair  trial,  whether  civil  or  military. 

A  U  T  I  C  L  H     XV  1 1 . 

Furthrr  pntii.t. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President  and  Secretary  of  State 
to  tiud  out,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  real  friends,  as  well  as  ene- 
mies of  this  organization  in  every  part  of  the  country;  to  se- 
cure among  them  inn-keepers,  private  postmasters,  private  mail 
contract<:jr8,  messengers  and  agents,  through  whom  may  be  ob- 
tained correct  and  regular  information  constantly,  recruits  for 
the  service,  places  of  deposit  and  s:ile,  together  with  all  needed 
supplies ;  and  it  shall  be  matter  of  si)ecial  regard  to  secure 
Huoh  facilities  through  the  northern  States. 


APPENDIX.  135 

ARTICLE     XVIII. 

Duty  of  the  President. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  as  well  as  the  HoTise 
of  Representatives,  at  all  times,  to  inform  the  commander-in- 
chief  of  any  matter  that  may  require  his  attention,  or  that  may 
afiect  the  public  safety. 

ARTICLB    XIX, 

Duty  of  President — Continued. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  J*resident  to  see  that  the  provis- 
ional ordinances  of  this  organization,  and  those  made  by  Con- 
gress, are  promptly  and  faithfully  executed,  and  he  may,  in 
cases  of  great  urgency,  call  on  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army,  or  other  officers,  for  aid  ;  it  being,  however,  intended 
that  a  sufficient  civil  police  shall  always  be  in  readiness  to  se- 
cure implicit  obedience  to  law. 

ARTICLE    XX. 

>^  The   Vice  President. 

The  Vice  President  shall  be  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Pro- 
visional Congress;  and,  in  cases  of  tie,  shall  give  the  castijig 
vote. 

ARTICLE    XXI. 

Vacancies. 

In  case  of  the  death,  removal,  or  inability  of  the  President, 
the  Vice  President,  and  next  to  him  the  chief  justice  of  the 
supreme  court,  shall  be  the  I'resident  during  the  remainder  of 
the  term  ;  and  the  place  of  the  chief  justice,  thus  made  vacant, 
shall  be  filled  by  Congress  from  some  of  the  members  of  said 
court;  and  the  places  of  the  Vice  President  and  associate  jus- 
tice, thus  made  vacant,  filled  by  an  election  by  the  united  ac- 
tion of  the  Provisional  Congress  and  members  of  the  supreme 
court.  All  other  vacancies,  not  hereafter  specially  provided 
for,  shall,  during  the  first  three  years,  be  filled  by  the  united 
action  of  the  President,  Vice  President,  Buprem*  court,  and 
commander-in-chief  of  the  armv. 


13G  APPENDIX. 

ARTICLE     XXII. 

Punishment  of  Crimet. 

The  punishment  of  crimes,  not  capital,  except  in  case  of  in- 
fiubordinute  convicts  or  other  prisoners,  sh.ill  be  (so  far  as  may 
be)  by  hard  lal>or  on  the  public  worLi,  rouds,  &c. 

ARTICLE     XXIII. 

Army   Appointments. 

It  sliall  be  the  duty  of  all  coniniissi'ined  (tfficers  of  the  army 
to  name  candidates  of  merit  for  «mce  or  elevation  to  tlie  c^nn- 
uiander-in-chief,  who.  with  the  Secretary  of  War,  and,  in  casa 
of  disaj^reement,  the  President,  shall  be  the  appoiuti^t;  power 
of  the  army;  and  all  commissions  of  military  ntheers shall  bear 
the  signatures  of  the  commander-in-chief  and  Secretary  of  War. 
And  it  shall  be  the  special  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
keep,  for  constant  refeience  nf  the  cummnnder-iii-chief.  a  full 
list  of  names  <tf  persons  iKiminated  f  >r  office  or  elevation,  by  the 
officers  of  the  army,  with  the  name  and  rank  of  the  officer  nom- 
inating, stating  briefly,  but  distinctly,  the  grounds  for  each 
notice  or  nomination.  The  commander-in-chief  shall  not  have 
power  to  remov«?  or  punish  any  officer  or  soldier;  but  he  may 
order  their  arrest  and  trial,  at  any  time,  by  court  martial. 

ARTICLE     XXIV. 

Courts    Martial. 

Courts  martial  for  companies,  regiments,  brigades,  etc.,  shall 
be  called  by  the  chief  oHicer  of  each  command,  on  complaint 
to  him  by  any  officer,  or  any  five  privates  in  such  command, 
and  shall  consist  of  not  less  than  five  nor  more  than  nine  offi- 
cers, non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  one  half  of  whom 
shall  not  be  lower  in  rank  than  the  person  on  trial,  to  be  chosen 
by  the  three  highest  officers  in  the  couunand,  which  officers 
shall  not  be  a  part  of  such  court.  The  chief  officer  of  any  com- 
mand shall,  of  c*mrse,  be  tried  by  u  court  marti.d  of  the  com- 
mand above  his  own.  All  decisions  aflecling  the  lives  of  per- 
sons, or  office  of  persons  hoUling  c^mmi-sions.  mnst,  before 
taking  full  effect,  have  the  signaiurw  of  the  commuuder-in- 


APPENDIX.  13" 

chief,  who  may,  also,  on  th^'  rccnmmendation  of  at  least  ono 
third  of  the  members  of  the  c-urt  martial  finding  any  septenco, 
grant  a  reprieve  or  commutation  of  the  same. 

ARTICLE    XXV. 

Salaries. 

No  person  connected  with  this  orpranization  shall  be  entitled 
to  any  salary,  pay  or  emolument,  other  than  a  competent  sup- 
port of  himself  and  fiimily,  unless  it  be  from  an  equal  dividend, 
made  of  public  property,  on  the  esiiablishment  of  peace,  or  of 
special  provision  by  treaty;  which  provision  shall  be  made  for 
all  persons  who  have  been  in  an}^  active  civil  or  military  ser- 
vice, at  any  time  previous  to  any  hostile  action,  fbr  liberty  and 
equality. 

ARTICLE     XXVI. 

7\'eaties  of  Peace. 

Before  any  treaty  of  peace  shall  take  full  effect,  it  shall  be 
signed  by  the  President  ^nd  Vice  President,  the  commander- 
in-chief,  a  majority  of  tne  House  of  Ilepresentativea,  a  majority 
of  the  supreme  court,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  general  officers 
of  the  army. 

ARTICLE    XXVII. 

Dutt/  of  the  Military. 

■'  I 
It  shall  he  the  duty  of  the  commander-in-chief,  and  all  offi- 
cers and  soldiers  of  the  arm}',  to  afford  special  proteQi,ion,  when 
needed,  to  Congress,  or  any  member  thereof;  to  the  supreme 
court,  or  any  member  thereof;  to  the  I^esident,  Vice  Presi- 
dent, Treasurer,  Secretary  of  istate,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
and  Secretary  of  War;  and  to  affftrd  general  protection  to  all 
civil  officers,  or  other  persons  having  right  to  the  same. 

ARTICLE     XXVIII. 

All  captured  or  confiscated  property,  and  all  property,  fho 
product  of  the  .labor  of  those  belonging  to  this  organization 
and  of  their  families,  shall  be  held  as  the  property  of  the  whole, 
equally,  without  distinction,  and  may  he  used  for  the  common 
benefit,  or  disposed  of  for  the  same  object;   and  any  person, 


^■'•'^  AI'I'EXblX. 

I'iliccr,  or  otherwise,  who  shall  ijmpropcrly  retain,  secrete,  use, 
or  needlessly  destroy  such  property,  or  property  found,  captured, 
or  co6^scated,  belonging  to  the  enemy,  or  shall.willfully  neg- 
lect to  render  a  full  and  fair  statement  of  such  property  by  him 
so  taken  or  held,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and, 
on  conviction,  shall  be  punished  accordingly. 

ARTICLE     XXIX. 

Safety  or  IntdHijence  Fund, 

All  money,  plate,  watches,  or  jewelry,  captured  by  honorable 
warfare,  found,  taken,  or  confiscated,  belonging  to  the  enemy, 
shall  beheld  sacred,  to  constitute  a  liberal  safety  or  iutelligenco 
fund;  and  any  person  who  shall  improperly  retain,  dispose  of, 
hide,  use,  or  destroy  such  money  or  other  article  above  named, 
contrary  to  the  provisions  and  spirit  of  this  article,  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  thet\,  and,  on  conviction  thereof,  shall  bo 
punished  accordingly.  The  treasurer  shall  furnish  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, at  all  times,  with  a  full  statement  of  the  cou- 
ditiou  oi*  such  fund  and  its  nature. 

ARTICLE    XXX. 

Tht   Commander-in-Chief  and  the   Treasury. 

The  commander-in-chief  shall  also  have  power  to  draw  from 
the  treasury  the  money  and  other  property  of  the  fund  provided 
for  in  article  twenty-ninth,  but  his  orders  shall  be  signed  also 
by  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  shall  heep  strict  account  of  the 
same,  subject  to  examination  by  any  member  of  Congress  or 
general  officer. 

ARTICLE     XXXI. 

Surplus  of  the  Safety  or  Intelligence  Fund. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  commander-in-ohiof  to  advise  tho 
President  of  any  surplus  of  the  safety  and  intellipenco  fund; 
who  shall  have  power  to  draw  such  surplus  (his  order  being 
also  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  State)  to  enable  him  to  carry 
out  the  provisions  of  article  seventeenth. 

ARTICLE    XXXII. 

No  person,  after  having  surrendered  himself  or  herself  % 


APPENDIX.  130 

prisoner,  and  wlio  shall  properly  demean  himself  or  herself  as 
such,  toany  officer  or  private  connected  with  this  organization, 
shall  afterwards  be  put  to  death  or  subjected  to  any  corporeal 
punishment,  without  first  having  had  a  fair  and  impartial  trial; 
nor  shall  any  prisoner  be  treated  with  any  kind  of  cruelty,  dis- 
respect, insult,  or  needless  severity;  but  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
all  persons,  male  and  female,  connected  herewith,  at  all  times, 
and  under  all  circumstances,  to  treat  such  prisoners  with  every 
degree  of  respect  and  kindness  the  nature  of  the  circumstances 
will  admit  of;  and  to  insist  on  a  like  course  of  conduct  from 
all  others,  as  in  the  fear  of  Almighty  God,  to  whose  care  and 
keeping  we  commit  our  cause. 

ARTICLE    XXXIII. 
-»  Voluntaries. 

All  persons  who  may  come  forward  and  shall  voluntarily  de- 
liver up  their  slaves,  and  have  their  names  registered  on  the 
books  of  the  organization,  shall,  so  long  as  they  continue  at 
peace,  be  entitled  to  the  fullest  protection  of  person  and  prop- 
erty, though  not  connected  with  this  organization,  and  shall 
be  treated  as  friends  and  not  mearly  as  persons  neutral. 

ARTICLE     XXXIV. 

The  persons  and  property  of  all  non-slaveholders,  who  shall 
remain  absolutely  neutral,  shall  be  respected  so  far  as  the  cir- 
cumstances can  allow  of  it;  but  they  shall  not  be  entitled  to 
any  executive  protection. 

ARTICLE    XXXV. 

No  Needless    Wa$te. 

The  needless  waste  or  destruction  of  any  useful  property  or 
article  by  fire,  throwing  open  of  fences,  fields,  buildings,  or 
needless  killing  of  animals,  or  injury  of  either,  shall  not  be 
tolerated  at  any  time  or  place,  but  shall  be  promptly  aud  prop- 
erly punished. 

ARTICLE    XXXVI. 

Prnjperty    Conjiitcated . 

The  entire  personal  and  real  property  of  all  pcraons  known 
to  be  acting,  directly  or  indirectly,  with  or  for  the  enemy,  ox 


HO  APPENDIX. 

found  in  arms  with  them,  or  found  wilfully  holding  slaves,  shall 
be  confiscated  and  taken,  whenever  and  wherever  it  may  be 
found,  either  in  free  or  slave  States. 


ARTICLE    XXXVII. 

Desertion. 

Persons  convicted,  on  impartial  trial,  of  derscrtion  to  the 
enemy,  after  becoming  members,  acting  as  spies,  or  of  treacher- 
ous surrender  of  property,  arms,  ammunition,  provisions  or 
supplies  of  any  kind,  roads,  bridges,  persons,  or  fortifications, 
shall  be  put  to  death,  and  their  entire  property  confiscated.- 

ARTICLE    XXXVIII. 
Violation  of  Parole  of  Honor. 

Persons  proven  to  be  guilty  of  taking  up  arms  after  having 
been  set  at  liberty  ou  parole  of  honor,  or,  ai"ter  the  same,  to 
have  taken  any  active  part  with  or  for  the  enemy,  direct  or  in- 
direct, shall  be  put  to  death  and  their  entire  property  confis- 
cated. 

ARTICLE     XXXIX. 
All  Must  Labor. 

All  persons  connected  in  any  way  with  this  organization, 
and  who  may  be  entitled  to  full  protection  under  it,  shall  be 
held,  as  under  obligation,  to  labor  in  some  way  for  the  general 
good;  and  persons  neglecting  or  refusing  so  to  do,  shall,  on 
conviction,  receive  a  suitable  and  appropriate  punishment. 

ARTICLE     XL. 

Irregularities. 

Profane  swearing,  filthy  conversation,  indecent  behavior,  or 
indecent  exposure  of  the  person,  or  intoxication,  or  quarreling, 
fihall  not  be  allowed  or  tolerated,  neither  unlawful  intercourse 
of  the  sexes. 


APPZNDIX.  141 

ARTICLE    XLI. 
Vn'tnes. 

Persons  convicted  of  tlie  forcible  violation  of  any  female 
prisoner,  shall  be  put  to  death. 

ARTICLE     XLII. 

The  Marriage  Relation — Schools — The    Sabbath. 

The  marriage  relation  sball,  at  all  times,  be  respected,  and 
families  kept  together  as  far  as  possible,  and  broken  families 
encouraged  tore-unite;  and  intelligence  offices  established,  as 
soon  as  may  be,  for  the  purpose  of  religious  and  other  instruc- 
tion ;  and  the  first  day  of  the  week  regarded  as  a  day  of  rest 
and  appropriated  to  moral  and  religious  instruction,  and  im- 
provement, relief  of  the  suffering,  instruction  of  the  young 
and  igunrant,  and  the  encouragment  of  personal  cleanliness; 
nor  shall  any  person  be  required,  on  that  day,  to  perform  ordi- 
nary manual  labor,  unless  in  extremely  urgent  cases. 

ARTICLE     XLIII. 

Carry  Arms    Openly. 

All  persons,  known  to  be  of  good  character,  and  of  sound 
mind,  and  suitable  age,  who  are  connected  with  this  organiza- 
tion, whether  male  or  female,  shall  be  encouraged  to  carry 
arms  openly. 

ARTICLE    XLIV. 
No    Person  to  carry   Concealed    Weapons. 

No   persons  within   the   limits  of  the   conquered  territory* 
I  except  regularly  appointed   policemen,  express  officers,  officers 
I  of  the  army,  mail  carriers,  or  other  fully  accredited  messengers 
,  of   the   Congress,  President,  Vice-President,  members  of   the 
supreme  court,  or  commissioned  officer  of  the  army — and  those 
only   under   peculiar  circumstances — shall  be  allowed,  at  any- 
time, to  carry  concealed  weapons,  and  any  person  not  specially 
authorized  so   to  do,  who  shall   be   found   so  doing,  shall   be 
deemed  a  suspicious   person   and   may  at  once  be  arrested  by 
any  officer^  soldier,  or  citizen,  without  the  formality  of  a  oom> 


14J  APPENDlXj 

plaint  or  warrant,  and  may  at  once  be  subjected  to  thorou^rh 
search,  and  shall  have  his  or  her  case  thorouiihly  investigated, 
aud  be  dealt  with  as  circumstances,  or  proof,  may  require. 

ARTICLE     XLV. 

Persona  to  he    Seized. 

Persons  within  tha  limits  of  the  territory  holden  by  this  or- 
ganization, not  Connected  with  this  orjranization,  having  arms 
at  all,  concealed  or  otherwise,  shall  be  seized  at  once,  or  be 
taken  in  charge  of  some  Tigilant  oflSccr,  and  their  case  thorough- 
ly investigated,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  citizens  and 
soldiers,  as  well  as  officers,  to  arrest  such  parties  as  are  named 
in  this  and  the  preceding  section,  or  without  the  formality  of 
complaint  or  warrant ;  and  they  shall  be  placed  in  charge  '• 
some  proper  officer  for  examination  or  for  safe  keeping. 

ARTICLE     XL  VI. 
These  Articles  not  for  the    Overthrow  of   Government. 

The  foregoing  articles  shall  not  be  construed  so  as  in  aay 

way  to  encourage  the  overthrow  of  any  State  government,  or  of 
the  general  government  of  the  United   States,  and  look  to  no 
dissolution  of  the  Union,  but  simply  to  aiucudment  and  repeal 
And  our  flag  shall  bo  the  aame  that  our  fathers  fought  uuder 
in  the  revolution. 

ARTICLE    XLVII. 

No  two  of  the  offices  specially  provided  for,  by  this  instru-s 
ment,  shall  be  filled  by  the  same  person,  at  the  same  time.  ' 

ARTICLE     XLVIII.  ! 

Oath. 

Every  officer,  civil  or  military,  connected  with  this  organiza- 
tion, shall,  before  entering  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  make 
oath  or  affirmation  to  abide  by  and  support  this  provisional 
constitution  and  these  ordinances.  Also,  every  citizen  and 
soldier,  before  being  fully  recognized  as  such,  shall  do  the 
name.  \ 


AITINBIX. 


SCHEDULE. 


143 


The  President  of  this  convention  shall  convene,  immediately 
on  the  adoption  of  this  instrument,  a  convention  of  all  such 
persons  as  shall  have  given  their  adherence,  by  signature,  to 
the  constitution ;  who  shall  proceed  to  fill,  by  election,  all 
oflSces  specially  named  in  said  constitution,  the  President  of 
this  convention  presiding,  and  issuing  commissions  to  such 
officers  elect.  All  such  officers  being  thereafter  elected  in  the 
mauner  provided  in  the  body  of  this  instrument. 
t 


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ERRATA. 

Page  15,  line  9.     For  "poured,"  read  "fused." 
Page  15,  line  next  to  .bottom.     For    "homes,"  read  "hoi 
rors." 

Page  22,  line  30.     For  "executive,"  read  "eccentric." 


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